07-03-2025
Man arrested in Memphis for stealing, selling hit movies before release
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A worker at a DVD and Blu-ray manufacturing and distribution company was arrested in Memphis on Thursday and accused of stealing copies of popular blockbuster movies from the company and selling them before their release dates.
Steven R. Hale, 37, allegedly stole and sold DVDs and Blu-rays for popular films such as 'F9: The First Saga,' 'Venom: Let There Be Carnage,' 'Godzilla v. Kong,' 'Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,' 'Dune,' and 'Black Widow.'
Hale is also accused of stealing and selling the pre-release Blu-ray 'Spider-Man: No Way Home,' which was found to have been 'ripped,' meaning he attained the film by bypassing the encryption that prevents the unauthorized copying of the material.
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The U.S. Attorney's Office says the digital copy of the Spider-Man movie was then illegally made available over the Internet more than a month before its official scheduled release date. Copies of the movie were downloaded tens of millions of times, which resulted in an estimated loss of tens of millions of dollars to the copyright owner.
The thefts took place between February 2021 and March 2022 while Hale was working for a multinational company that manufactured and distributed DVDs and Blu-rays of movies, according to a press release.
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Hale was indicted on two counts of criminal copyright infringement, of which each count holds a maximum penalty of five years in prison if convicted, and one count of interstate transportation of stolen goods, which holds a maximum penalty of 10 years.
The FBI is investigating the case.
The U.S. Attorney's office says Senior Counsel Matthew A. Lamberti, Trial Attorney Debra Ireland of the Criminal Division's Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Raney Irwin for the Western District of Tennessee are prosecuting the case.
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