Two Elk Grove residents and one former Elk Grove resident have been accused of selling counterfeit Disney DVDs made in Chinese factories, according to the U.S. Attorney's Eastern District of California.
Former Elk Grove resident Xavier Johnson, 31, and Elk Grove residents Kristin Caldwell, 30; and William Brown, 28, have been charged with 23 counts of wire fraud and trafficking in counterfeit goods, according to a press release from U.S. Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner's office.
"The defendants falsely advertised to have located a limited supply of scarce Disney DVDs that were otherwise unavailable for purchase," the press release states. "In reality, they were importing thousands of bootleg copies of the movies directly from factories in China and selling them as if they were legitimate DVDs."
The trio allegedly had the fake movies shipped to various addresses so officials wouldn't notice what they were doing. Friends and acquaintences wired money to the Chinese manufacturers to pay for the DVDs, the press release says.
Caldwell and Brown were arrested in Elk Grove on July 13 and pleaded not guilty, while Johnson was apprehended on Friday in Georgia. Johnson is being held without bail and is being transported to Sacramento; Caldwell and Brown were released on bail and are due back in court on Wednesday.
The FBI and U.S. Postal Inspection Service investigated the case, according to the press release.
The defendents face up to 20 years in prison for each count of wire fraud, and 10 years for each count of trafficking in counterfeit goods.
--
Sign up for the free Elk Grove Patch newsletter | Like Elk Grove Patch on Facebook | Follow @ElkGrovePatch on Twitter | Blog for Elk Grove Patch
