Wednesday, January 04, 2006

Trafficking in Counterfeit DVDs—Guthrie Guilty Plea

Randolph Hobson Guthrie III has pleaded guilty in a federal court in Mississippi to running an DVD ring.[1] His guilty plea culminates a rather stunning example of how the US government can track people down across the globe when it wants to. When we first discussed Mr. Guthrie three months , we noted that he had just been returned to the United States from China after having been convicted there for selling pirated DVDs out of his Chinese apartment. He was sentenced to 30 months in prison, fined $60,000, and was scheduled to be deported after the completion of his sentence; however, he was deported before serving any time in prison.[2] A couple of weeks we noted that he had been arraigned in Mississippi on charges that he had engaged in criminal copyright and trademark infringements, as well as for importing infringing goods and for laundering money.

The investigation into Mr. Guthrie began with the purchase of several pirated DVDs at a Harrison County, Mississippi flea market.[3] As we mentioned , federal agents have been stepping up their investigations into flea markets to find infringing goods.

The interesting aspect of Mr. Guthrie’s plea bargain is that he pleaded guilty to conspiring to traffic counterfeit goods, which is a substantial lessening of the 18 charges he was facing.[4] Conspiracy carries a potential fine of US$250,000, a prison sentence of up to 5 years, or both. In the plea agreement, Mr. Guthrie also agreed to forfeit US$823,000 to the US government.

On December 30, 2005, Mr. Guthrie filed a motion to dismiss the indictment on double jeopardy grounds, arguing that US officials were behind the investigation and prosecution of Mr. Guthrie in China and that the prosecution of Mr. Guthrie in China resulted in a conviction for the same conduct alleged in the federal indictment: “selling pirated DVDs internationally through a website, threedollardcd.com.”[5] Furthermore, he argued, the indictment “tries to avoid the dual prosecution argument by tacking on money laundering and forfeiture counts, but all of these counts derive from the very same conduct” for which Mr. Guthrie was convicted in China.[6]

At the same time, Mr. Guthrie argued that testimony and documentary evidence to be presented at his trial should be suppressed “because [it] was obtained in conjunction with or derives from criminal proceedings in China in which [Mr.] Guthrie was deprived of constitutional safeguards afforded United States citizens.”[7] Among the safeguards that Mr. Guthrie found lacking were: tape-recorded conversations with Mr. Guthrie in June, 2004;[8] interrogation by Chinese authorities without being advised of his rights to remain silent or to have counsel;[9] that China’s reticence to prosecute Mr. Guthrie without the US’s prodding constituted a vicarious prosecution;[10] that prosecuting Mr. Guthrie constitutes double jeopardy;[11] and that some of the evidence was obtained “unlawfully even under Chinese law.”[12]

There is, however, no record of how District Judge Louis Guirola Jr. disposed of the motions, and a plea was entered just a few days later, yesterday, noting that Mr. Guthrie had entered a guilty plea to a violation of , as well as agreeing to forfeit the sums mentioned above. It is not clear what prompted the plea, but his trial was scheduled to begin yesterday, and all motions were due to be filed by December 20; Mr. Guthrie requested and received an extension of time to file his motions, however. Sentencing is scheduled for March 14, 2006.


[1] See , The Guardian, Jan. 4, 2006; Valerie Bauman, , Associated Press (via Wilkes-Barre Times Leader), Jan. 4, 2006.
[2] Bauman.
[3] Id.
[4] Id.
[5] United States v. Guthrie, Motion to Dismiss 1, No. 1:05cv56-LG-JMR (S.D. Miss. 2005), available through PACER.
[6] Id. 1-2.
[7] United States v. Guthrie, Motion to Suppress 1, No. 1:05cv56-LG-JMR (S.D. Miss. 2005), available through PACER.
[8] Id.
[9] Id. at 2.
[10] Id.
[11] Id. at 3.
[12] Id.

posted by McNabb Associates, P.C. @ 10:50 AM