GEORGIA
A federal judge sentenced a Dakar, Senegal man to five years in prison Wednesday for his involvement in a counterfeit DVD and CD ring.
U.S. District Judge William S. Duffey Jr. also ordered Mamadou Aliou Simakha, 41, to pay $70,894 in restitution with his co-defendants, according to officials.
Simakha pleaded guilty on March 10, 2010, to one count of conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement, to traffic in counterfeit goods and to traffic in counterfeit labels, officials said.
After entering his guilty plea, officials said Simakha fled the country, and a warrant was issued for his arrest on April 6, 2010. On March 1, 2016, Simakha was arrested in Morocco and was extradited from Morocco into the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service on Dec.15, 2016.
“Criminal enforcement of the copyright laws plays an essential role in preserving the rights of American authors, artists and creators,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Blanco. “This group of defendants stole from thousands of victims by mass-producing counterfeit music CDs and DVD movies in a far-reaching pirating operation. As this case demonstrates, we will continue to investigate, prosecute and, if necessary, extradite those individuals who seek to profit illegally by stealing the works of others.”
“Simakha admitted his part as a high volume seller in a conspiracy to produce and traffic millions of pirated music CDs and DVDs which was a leading supplier for the southeastern United States,” said U.S. Attorney John Horn of Georgia “His decision to flee the country garnered him the statutory maximum sentence he deserves for his many years as a disc counterfeiter and international fugitive.”
At the plea hearing, Simakha admitted that two co-conspirators supplied him with blank CDs and DVDs and Simaka burned counterfeit copies of music and movies onto the CDs and DVDs along with placing counterfeit artwork onto the CDs and DVDs.
Simakha also admitted that he was involved in a conspiracy to then sell copies of the pirated works to others.
Simakha was one of 13 individuals charged by a federal grand jury on May 19, 2009, in an indictment alleging various copyright, trademark, and counterfeit label offenses.
Seven other defendants were sentenced in 2011 to prison terms ranging from probation to five years.
The court found that Simakha conspired with co-defendants and others to reproduce and distribute tens of thousands of copyright infringing music CDs and movie DVDs which, if legitimate, would have been worth more than $769,000.