Friday, March 26, 2004
D.A. BROWN: SIX CHARGED IN COMPACT DISK PIRACY SCHEME; THOUSANDS OF COUNTERFEIT CDS AND SOPHISTICATED MANUFACTURING EQUIPMENT SEIZED FROM FRESH MEADOWS, QUEENS HOUSE USED AS ILLEGAL DUPLICATING MILL
Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown today announced the seizure of thousands of counterfeit compact disks from a private house in a quiet, residential Fresh Meadows, Queens neighborhood that was being used as an underground CD duplicating factory.
District Attorney Brown said, “A counterfeiting mill with a high-volume duplicating capacity like this factory is capable each year of fleecing the recording industry of millions of dollars in revenues, cheating artists out of substantial sums in lost royalties and ripping off honest consumers who are forced to pay higher prices for their listening entertainment. In addition, it deprives the City and State of much needed tax revenues. My Office will continue to work with the Police Department and recording industry to close down these illegal operations and prosecute those involved to the full extent of the law.”
Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said, “These individuals employed a combination of technology and arrogance to carry out their crimes. On a quiet street, in a quiet section of Queens, this enterprise ran twenty-four hours a day. Now, thanks to the efforts of these investigators, we rooted out this organization’s factory and brought its perpetrators to justice.”
Brad Buckles, Executive Vice President and Director of the RIAA’s Anti-Piracy Unit said, “We thank the hard work of the New York City Police Department and Queens District Attorney’s office in this case. Because of their efforts, a major northeast piracy operation churning out thousands and thousands of counterfeit CDs has been put out of business. The victims of music piracy are local legitimate music retailers, as well as record companies, artists, songwriters and everyone else involved in bringing music to the public. These arrests should be clear notice that local law enforcement is serious about the consequences that come with engaging in illegally copying and distributing copyrighted music.”
District Attorney Brown identified the defendants as (1) Dao Hua Huang, 19; (2) Gien Hai Qu, 26; (3) Xiao Kei Qu, 29; (4) Xuk Dun Sok, 27; (5) Guo Ren Wang, 27, and (6) Shi Ming Xu, 24, all of 49-54 175th Place in Fresh Meadows, Queens. The defendants have been charged with Trademark Counterfeiting in the Second Degree, Failure to Disclose the Origin of a Recording Device in the First Degree and Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument in the Third Degree and face up to four years in prison if convicted.
The District Attorney said that according to the criminal charges New York City Police Department detectives assigned to the Queens Robbery Squad earlier today executed a court-authorized search warrant on the alleged factory at 49-54 175th Place in Fresh Meadows, Queens.
District Attorney Brown said that the search warrant was drafted by his Economic Crimes Bureau and was the result of confidential information obtained in an on-going investigation.
According to the District Attorney, detectives conducted a room-by-room search of the red brick, two-story house which is just a few blocks from Francis Lewis High School and recovered over one hundred CD burners situated in rows of towers two and one-half feet in height, 15,000 counterfeit CDs and CD blanks and equipment capable of producing as many as 5,000 CD’s an hour -- and which it is believed was churning out some 70,000 counterfeit CD’s each week. Also, recovered was a quantity of apparently counterfeit designer handbags and luggage as well as pornographic DVDs.
Some of the artists whose CDs were counterfeited included Jessica Simpson, Alicia Keys, 50 Cent, Sheryl Crow, Eminem, The Vines, Guns and Roses, Dave Mathews, Bruce Springsteen, Usher and Nerd.
According to District Attorney Brown, the counterfeit CD’s turn up all over the City -- they are sold in neighborhood retail stores, in flea markets and by street-corner vendors. They are usually sold for $4 or $5 each -- the legitimate product usually runs between $15 and $18. The recording industry estimates that it loses some $400 million each year as a result of the manufacture and distribution of bogus CD’s and audio cassettes.
The six defendants who were found inside the premises when the raid occurred were taken into custody and held pending arraignment in Queens County Criminal Court.
The investigation was conducted by Queens Robbery Squad Detective Keith Ng under the supervision of Lieutenant Sean Cussen, Commanding Officer and the overall supervision of Chief of Detectives George F. Brown.
District Attorney Brown commended the New York City Police Department’s Queens Robbery Squad and expressed his appreciation for the cooperation and support from the Recording Industry Association of America, located in Yonkers, New York, particularly Regional Investigator Bob Geis and Regional Coordinator Gerald Robbins.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney David Chen of the District Attorney’s Economic Crimes Bureau under the supervision of Assistant District Attorneys Brian J. Mich, Bureau Chief, and Diane M. Peress, Deputy Bureau Chief, and the overall supervision of Executive District Attorney for Investigations Peter A. Crusco and Deputy Executive Assistant District Attorney for Investigations Linda M. Cantoni.
It should be noted that criminal charges are merely an accusation and that defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.