Sacramento Man Pleads Guilty to Large-Scale Conspiracy to Sell Counterfeit Music and Movies

FRESNO, CA—United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced that Eleazar Gomez Ortiz, aka Eleazar Ortiz Gomez, 28, of Sacramento, pleaded guilty today in Fresno to conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement and traffic in counterfeit labels, illicit labels, and counterfeit documentation and packaging.

According to the plea agreement, from January 2010 to November 2010, Gomez procured several thousand counterfeit music CDs and motion picture DVDs on a regular basis from a warehouse in San Jose. Gomez, along with co-conspirators, then sold the counterfeit music CDs and motion picture DVDs to the public at the Galt Market, a flea market in Galt, and at other flea markets in the Sacramento area. Gomez converted the garage of his house in Sacramento into a video and music store, complete with aisles and shelving and sold the counterfeit media from the garage. On November 16, 2010 more than 10,000 counterfeit DVDs and more than 24,000 counterfeit music CDs were seized from Gomez’s residence and vehicle.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Sacramento Valley Hi-Tech Crimes Task Force. Assistant United States Attorneys Henry Z. Carbajal III and Brian W. Enos are prosecuting the case.

Gomez is scheduled to be sentenced by Chief United States District Judge Anthony W. Ishii on January 23, 2012. He faces a maximum statutory penalty of five years in prison. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

Charges are pending against six other defendants in this case. The charges are only allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.