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Video shop employee in piracy case gets three-year probation
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Posted on Dec 09 2008
The federal court imposed yesterday a three-year probation sentence on an employee of a video shop where the Federal Bureau of Investigation seized thousands of pirated DVDs and VHS tapes.
U.S. District Court for the NMI Chief Judge Alex R. Munson also ordered Min Jo to perform 100 hours of community service.
Munson referred the 51-year-old Korean to the NMI Immigration to determine if he is a deportable alien. The judge also required the defendant to pay a $100 court assessment fee.
Munson granted Assistant U.S. Attorney Kirk Schuler’s motion that all property seized in the case shall be forfeited to the U.S. government.
Munson ordered that the seized items be delivered to the FBI and that the property be dispersed as the FBI deems proper.
In yesterday’s hearing, Schuler recommended a one-year probation sentence and one-year suspended release. Schuler noted that Jo accepted responsibility for his actions at the early stage of the case.
Jo, through counsel, concurred with Schuler’s recommendation.
Jo and his manager, Il Cho, were arrested a few weeks after the FBI raided Seoul Video Store in Chalan Kanoa on March 26, 2008.
The two were charged with one count of conspiracy, two counts of copyright infringement, and three counts of trafficking in counterfeit labels.
The defendants entered a plea agreement with the U.S. government. Both pleaded guilty to one count of trafficking in counterfeit labels. The remaining charges were dismissed as part of the plea agreement.
Last week, the court also imposed the same sentence on Cho.
An FBI agent said that after the arrest, Cho and Jo admitted that they purchased DVDs from Korea and were copying them onto VHS tapes for sale and rent to customers.
