You might expect to see bootleg DVDs being sold out of a bag in some back alley, but one Miami movie store decided to flaunt their stock of counterfeit flicks and got busted in the process.
An employee at Video 27 at Country Mall Plaza in Southwest Miami-Dade was nailed after undercover cops raided the rental's racket and found thousands of pirated vids being sold for $5 apiece, according to CBS 4.
Video 27 wasn't being very covert. A large catalogue advertised all their illegal wares, including several movies that won't be available on DVD for months, like "Obsessed" and "State of Play." And making matters worse, as police with the Counterfeit Trademark Infringement Investigative unit questioned the handcuffed employee, the new "Star Trek" film played on nearby TVs.
As the price of going to the movies reaches ever higher, over $10 per ticket in most of Miami, bootleg DVD sales are becoming a big problem. Their sale and the price of fighting them costs the film industry six billion dollars a year, according to the Motion Picture Association of America.
"There are a ton of individuals who have invested their money in these movies," Miami-Dade Detective Juan Villalba told CBS. "These individuals who are copying and selling these bootleg DVDs are stealing the intellectual rights of individuals. And that hurts consumers because it drives up prices for movies."
Just last month, an early copy of "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" was leaked and posted on the internet, touching off a FBI investigation and riling up the movie's producers.
The Video 27 employee was charged with vending counterfeit DVDs and unauthorized copying of DVDs. Those felonies can carry a fine of up to $5,000 and/or five years behind bars. The owner of Video 27 was not identified.
