Modesto Woman Pleads Guilty to Participating in Extensive Counterfeit Media Conspiracy

FRESNO, CA—Vicenta Munoz-Peralta, 39, of Modesto, pleaded guilty today to one count of conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement and to traffic in counterfeit labels and counterfeit documentation and packaging, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.

According to court documents, between April 2011 and July 25, 2011, Munoz-Peralta and others manufactured copyright-infringing DVDs in a co-defendant’s garage in Modesto. The garage contained blank disks, computers, and disk replicating machines, two copy machines, scanners, and approximately 50 printers. The Modesto residence also stored several thousand counterfeit CDs and DVDs. Munoz-Peralta managed the day-to-day operations of a distribution warehouse in Modesto. She was paid a monthly amount for the manufacturing of DVDs and the operation of the Modesto warehouse.

Munoz-Peralta operated vendor stands every week at the Modesto 7th Street Flea Market and sold counterfeit music CDs to the public and to other co-conspirators for resale. The total retail value of copyrighted media that was counterfeited in the conspiracy exceeded $2 million.

This case is the product of an extensive investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Sacramento Valley Hi-Tech Crimes Task Force with assistance from the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department. Assistant United States Attorney Henry Z. Carbajal III prosecuted the case.

Munoz-Peralta is scheduled to be sentenced by Chief United States District Judge Anthony W. Ishii on November 26, 2012 at 10:00 a.m. She faces a maximum statutory penalty of five years in prison. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.