LAWFUEL – Press Release Service – A South Los Angeles man has pleaded guilty to federal charges of uploading onto the Internet a copy of Walk the Line in December 2005, while the film was still playing in theaters and was not legally available for home viewing in the DVD or videotape formats.
Luis Ochoa, 25, pleaded guilty late yesterday to a misdemeanor count of criminal distribution of a copyrighted work in United States District Court in Los Angeles. Ochoa admitted that on December 21, 2005 he willfully copied and distributed a copy of Walk the Line by uploading the film onto a private computer server that had been set up by the Motion Picture Association of America after Ochoa had expressed his desire to upload the film onto the Internet.
Ochoa now faces up to one year in federal custody and a fine of $100,000. He is scheduled to be sentenced by United States District Judge Gary A. Feess on August 28.
This case was investigated by the Los Angeles Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
CONTACT: Assistant United States Attorney Brian M. Hoffstadt
Cyber and Intellectual Property Crimes Section
(213) 894-6482
