Modesto and Stockton Residents Plead Guilty to Conspiracy to Sell Counterfeit Media

FRESNO, CA—United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced that Edgar Alonso Bautista Arazate, 31, of Modesto, and Antonio Hernandez Sanchez, 27, of Stockton, each pleaded guilty today to one count of conspiring to commit criminal copyright infringement and traffic in counterfeit labels and counterfeit documentation and packaging.

According to court documents, between April 2011 and July 25, 2011, Arazate sold counterfeit music CDs and movie DVDs from his home and out of his vehicles. The counterfeit media was supplied to him through from a warehouse in Modesto. On July 25, 2011, law enforcement officers seized approximately 780 counterfeit motion picture DVDs and 2,380 counterfeit music CDs from Arazate’s residence in Modesto.

According to court documents, between June 2011 and July 25, 2011, Sanchez sold counterfeit music CDs at the Modesto 7th Street flea market that he received from the Modesto warehouse. On July 25, 2011, law enforcement officers seized approximately 6,512 music CDs at the Modesto 7th Street flea market.

This case is the product of an extensive investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Sacramento Valley Hi-Tech Crimes Task Force, with assistance from the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department. Assistant United States Attorney Henry Z. Carbajal III is prosecuting the case.

Co-defendant Roman Santana pleaded guilty January 17, 2012. Charges are pending against co-defendants Mariano Vega Hernandez, Martin Munoz Peralta, Vicenta Munoz Peralta, and Leonel Martinez Caballero. The charges are only allegations and the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Arazate and Sanchez are scheduled to be sentenced by Chief United States District Judge Anthony W. Ishii on May 21, 2012 at 10:00 a.m. They face 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.