Steven R. Hale, Stealing Pre-Release Commercial DVDs, Tennessee 2025
Steven R. Hale, Stealing Pre-Release Commercial DVDs, Tennessee 2025
In a shocking case of intellectual property theft, Steven R. Hale, 37, of Memphis, Tennessee, has pleaded guilty to stealing and selling hundreds of pre-release commercial DVDs and Blu-rays. The DVDs and Blu-rays were being prepared for commercial distribution in the United States and were not available for sale to the public.
The theft, which took place from approximately February 2021 to March 2022, included popular films such as 'F9: The Fast Saga', 'Venom: Let There Be Carnage', 'Godzilla v. Kong', 'Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings', 'Dune', and 'Black Widow'. Hale then sold the discs through e-commerce sites.
As a result of Hale's illegal activities, at least one pre-release Blu-ray, 'Spider-Man: No Way Home', was ripped and copied. The digital copy was then illegally made available over the internet more than a month before the Blu-ray's official scheduled release date. Copies of 'Spider-Man: No Way Home' were downloaded tens of millions of times with an estimated loss to the copyright owner of tens of millions of dollars.
Hale also pleaded guilty to being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. The firearm, a Sarsilmaz 9mm, was loaded with one live round in the chamber and 13 rounds in the magazine.
Hale has a prior felony conviction for armed robbery in 2008 for which he served seven years' imprisonment. He is scheduled to be sentenced by United States District Chief Judge Sheryl H. Lipman on August 29, 2025. There is no parole in the federal system.
The cases were investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Memphis Police Department. Senior Counsel Matthew A. Lamberti and Trial Attorney Debra Ireland of the Criminal Division's Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Raney Irwin for the Western District of Tennessee are prosecuting the cases.
Key Facts
- State: Tennessee
- Category: Cybercrime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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