A Lafayette Hills man is facing serious charges after allegedly pirating thousands of movies and TV shows.
Brian Bethman, of Lafayette Hills, Pennsylvania, was charged by indictment for smuggling in more than 6,000 audiovisual copies of movies and television shows that were protected by copyright.
According to the indictment, Bethman smuggled in the copyrighted materials between April 2010 and April 2011, including TV shows such as House, Criminal Minds, NCIS, Weeds, The Office, and Royal Pains, as well as movies including Justfied, The Pacific, Dead Like Me, and Bambi.
Bethman is charged with seven counts of smuggling goods into the United States, one count of trafficking in counterfeit labels, and one count of criminal copyright infringement.
If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of 30 years in prison.
The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations and is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Karen A. Fox.
An indictment is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
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