Miguel Angel Gomez Rebolledo, Conspiracy to Commit Criminal Copyright Infringement, California 2015

FRESNO, Calif. — A brazen counterfeit media scheme has been dismantled with the guilty plea of its mastermind, Miguel Angel Gomez Rebolledo.

Rebolledo, 35, of San Jose, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill to conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement and related crimes, said United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner.

The scheme, which spanned the Central Valley of California, involved the distribution and resale of over 120,000 counterfeit music CDs and movie DVDs, including titles still in theatrical release. Investigators found the counterfeit materials at a San Jose-based warehouse and office space on March 13, 2015.

Rebolledo’s role in the scheme involved manufacturing counterfeit motion picture DVDs for distribution and resale at the office space used by his co-conspirators.

Rebolledo’s co-defendants, who have all pleaded guilty, include Efrain Lozada Rosas, Victor Flores Fuentes, Jesus Cuevas Lopez, and Antonio Morales. Edgar Hipatl Rodriguez, another co-defendant, was sentenced to 27 months in prison on December 7, 2015.

The case is the product of an investigation by the Sacramento Intellectual Property Rights Task Force, composed of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Henry Z. Carbajal III is prosecuting the case.

Rebolledo and his co-defendants pending sentencing face a maximum statutory penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentences will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.

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