Reagan T. Fondren Acting United States Attorney for the Western District Of Tennessee | U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee
A Memphis employee of a DVD and Blu-ray manufacturing company has been arrested on charges related to the theft and sale of pre-release DVDs and Blu-rays of blockbuster films. The alleged actions resulted in significant financial losses for the copyright owner.
Court documents identify the accused as Steven R. Hale, 37, who is suspected of stealing numerous pre-release DVDs and Blu-rays from his employer between February 2021 and March 2022. These items were reportedly intended for commercial distribution in the United States but were not yet available for public sale. The stolen titles include popular movies 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 allegedly sold these items through various e-commerce platforms.
One specific incident involves a pre-release Blu-ray copy of “Spider-Man: No Way Home.” This disc was allegedly extracted from its encryption, allowing unauthorized digital copies to be distributed online over a month before its official release date. These copies were downloaded tens of millions of times, leading to substantial financial losses estimated in the tens of millions for the copyright owner.
The indictment against Hale includes two counts of criminal copyright infringement and one count of interstate transportation of stolen goods. If convicted, he could face up to five years in prison for each count of copyright infringement and ten years for transporting stolen goods across state lines. Sentencing will be determined by a federal district judge based on U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The announcement was made by Supervisory Official Antoinette T. Bacon from the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting U.S. Attorney Reagan Fondren for the Western District of Tennessee, and Special Agent in Charge Joseph E. Carrico from the FBI Nashville Field Office.
The FBI is conducting an investigation into this case, with prosecution led by Senior Counsel Matthew A. Lamberti and Trial Attorney Debra Ireland from the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, along with Assistant U.S. Attorney Raney Irwin for the Western District of Tennessee.
It is important to note that an indictment is merely an allegation; all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court.
