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SALT LAKE CITY -- Calling it the largest bust of pirated DVDs and CDs in state history, the Utah Attorney General's Office Monday announced the results of a major operation.
Ten people, believed to be responsible for illegally distributing about 21,000 pirated CDs and 8,100 pirated DVDs, were rounded up by law enforcers in Ogden and Salt Lake late last week.
The pirated property valued at $346,000 was sent from California to Utah, distributed out of Mexican food markets -- including the Produce Express warehouse in Salt Lake City -- and then sold by individuals at flea markets, swap meets and on the street, officials said.
"The operation was very important because (the arrests) were not retail sellers," said Marcus Cohen, Recording Industry Association of America director of investigations. "They were distributors. This was a much higher level of investigation."Two people were also arrested in Ogden in October in connection with the operation. All 10 people arrested last week were illegal immigrants and face various charges, including racketeering. Two of the men arrested had prior criminal records and were also wanted for aggravated re-entry into the United States.
One man was charged with money laundering and five counts of refusing to tell authorities where the illegal recordings came from, all third-degree felonies.
The bust was the result of an investigation by the A.G.'s SECURE (Statewide Enforcement of Crimes by Undocumented Residents) Strike Force. The group began investigating pirated DVDs and CDs following a document mill bust a year ago, said Jake Taylor with the Utah Attorney General's Office.
The more investigators looked into it, they found out that in many cases, illegal CDs and DVDs were being sold along with fake green cards, fake Social Security cards, or in some cases even drugs and weapons.
"What we're finding is these people are just a criminal enterprise," said Utah Attorney General's Chief Deputy Kirk Torgensen.
Many of the CDs were high quality, while the DVDs ranged from poor to high quality. In many cases, investigators found DVDs of movies that were released in theaters just days earlier.
Pirated DVDs and CDs cost the economy $12.5 billion each year, including $2 billion in lost wages to the artists and approximately 70,000 jobs.
"Movies that would come out on Friday night, within a couple days they would have them and be selling them," said SECURE Strike Force Commander Rhett McQuiston. "Some are the ones recorded with a camcorder -- a lot with a camcorder -- and then mass produced."
"The quality of what we are seeing sold here was very high and designed and manufactured on purpose to deceive the consumer to believe this was something legitimate, which in actuality it was illegal," Cohen said.
Nationally, officials said during a press conference at the Utah Capitol Monday that pirated DVDs and CDs cost the economy $12.5 billion each year, including $2 billion in lost wages to the artists, $422 million in tax revenue and approximately 70,000 jobs.
"I was staggered to find out the amount of money this costs," Torgensen said. "I didn't know this problem was so big."
"It's a serious business that, when left unchecked, can have a devastating impact," Cohen said.
The SECURE Strike Force targets crimes by undocumented residents.
"It's amazing how much of the support we get from the Hispanic community and other immigrant communities in Utah, because we are in the process of removing that criminal element from among them who are often the victims of these crimes," said Rep Brad Dee, R-Ogden.
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Story written by Pat Reavy, with contributions from Sam Penrod and Nkoyo Iyamba.
