Jose Teran, Music Royalty Theft, Arizona 2023

PHOENIX, Ariz. – In a shocking case of music industry deceit, Jose Teran, a 38-year-old native of Scottsdale, Arizona, has been sentenced to 70 months in prison for his role in one of the largest music-royalty frauds ever perpetrated.

Teran pleaded guilty to Conspiracy, Wire Fraud, and Transactional Money Laundering on February 3, 2023. His plea followed a November 6, 2021, indictment in which a federal grand jury charged him and his co-conspirator, Webster Batista, with 30 felony counts involving Conspiracy, Wire Fraud, Transactional Money Laundering, and Aggravated Identity Theft.

According to court documents, Teran and Batista created the entity MediaMuv L.L.C. for the purpose of stealing royalty proceeds. In particular, they falsely claimed to own, and thereby stole the royalty proceeds from, more than 50,000 song titles. In total, Teran and Batista received approximately $23,400,000 from their fraudulent scheme.

The Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation conducted the investigation in this case. Assistant United States Attorneys Raymond K. Woo and Seth T. Goertz, District of Arizona, Phoenix, are handling the prosecution.

Teran’s sentencing on June 26, 2023, marks a significant victory for the music industry and a warning to those who would seek to exploit it. If you believe you were defrauded by the defendants in this case, you can visit the U.S. Attorney’s Office website for more information.

The case number for this incident is CR-21-0955-PHX-DLR, and the release number is 2023-101_Teran. For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit their website at www.justice.gov/usao/az/.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, can also be followed on Twitter at @USAO_AZ for the latest news.

MORE FEDERAL CRIME NEWS

White Collar Crime

Aracena Corsino, Wire Fraud, New York 2018

Jan 15, 2018

White Collar Crime

Juan Sebastian Stamatio-Martinez, Fraud, Colorado 2003

Jun 14, 2002

White Collar Crime

Ray Mitchell and Maurice Miller, Hazardous Waste Dumping, Georgia 2017

Dec 14, 2017

White Collar Crime

Beltran Chavez, Money Laundering, Florida 2016

Jan 15, 2016