Men Plead Guilty in Counterfeit DVD Case

March 30, 2010 - DALLAS—Osborne Lowe, 48, of Dallas, pleaded guilty today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul D. Stickney to an indictment charging one count of copyright infringement and aiding and abetting, announced U.S. Attorney James T. Jacks of the Northern District of Texas. In January 2010, Lowe’s son-in-law and co-defendant, Robert Campbell, Jr., 26, of Tulsa, Oklahoma, pleaded guilty to the same offense. Both defendants face a maximum statutory sentence of five years in prison, a $250,000 fine and restitution. U.S. District Judge Sam A. Lindsay is scheduled to sentence Campbell on April 19, 2010; Lowe is to be sentenced on July 6, 2010.

On February 15, 2008, special agents with the FBI executed a search warrant at the business, “Movies and CDs,” which was located at 9009 Bruton Road, Suite 101, in Dallas. At the time, Campbell worked for Lowe, who owned the business. FBI agents seized approximately 3700 DVDs, all of which will be forfeited to the government.

Lowe hired Campbell to work at the store. While working there, Campbell frequently worked alone and would either open or close the store. Customers would place orders for copies of movies, which Campbell burned onto DVDs while they waited. Campbell gave customers the pirated movies, which he placed into white sleeves, in exchange for their payment of five dollars per DVD.

Lowe and Campbell admitted that during a six-month period, ending the date the search warrant was executed, they pirated more than 151 movies, including: Bee Movie, Beowolf, Brave One, Gone Baby Gone, Michael Clayton, Rendition, Why Did I Get Married?, Rambo, 27 Dresses, and Mad Money. These movies had theatrical release dates from September 7, 2007, through January 25, 2008, and DVD release dates ranging from January 1, 2008, through May 13, 2008.

The case is being investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Aisha Saleem.