Thanks for posting this, pisneydins.
I hope the jurors were wearing their thigh-high boots for the amount of b.s. the defense attorney was spewing! :eek2:
I will be interested to see how this progresses with the others, and also, if Disney will pursue civil suits (to try to get money from these criminals). They probably wouldn't get anything or much, but they can try, just to send a message to anyone else thinking they can get away with this crap.
The shiester attorney is playing to the TV/Press audience not the jury, due to the guilty plea. These may also be arguements he made before the judge or prosecutor attempting to get this light sentence for his client.
The half truths are hillarious.
1)
legitimately obtained by Smyrak ... well technically true, He "did" pay for the counterfeit items to be made and be legitimately shipped to him. Just like the maker of fake "watches", "DVD/CD/Software", or counterfeit money could have a receipt for shipping and production. It doesn't make the items any less counterfeit or illegal to have.
2)
business, which they thought was legitimate .... yep copyright infringement and unauthorized production and distribution of trademarked products would be legal. Yeah, sure, riiiiighhhhht..... This lie is so baldfaced that I'm amazed his attorney would say it. There is NO legitimate business that will just allow you to start cranking out say Apple Ipods or NFL shirts or "genuine" GM parts just because you want to sell them.
3)
responded to ads from shippers in China who sell at a discount pins advertised as the products of an overrun or slightly damaged, and
He got them at a good price from China and was running a business ..... likely both true. He probablly did, at first, start by responding to an advertisement. And while unethical, buying factory overruns or slightly damaged items is not illegal. But as all collectors know the term for these pins are
SCRAPPERS. They are the bane of collecting and damaging to the hobby. But it is technically not illegal to sell them -- provided you do not pass them off as the genuine item and are not violating other copyright/tradmark laws. He broke the law when he did that and started sending back other times to be duplicated. He was just running a business on Ebay. *snort* ROLF, LMAF.. and Al Capone was just a nice guy trying to operate a distribution service and insurance firm. After all Big Al just didn't pay proper taxes on his profits. As for good price from China, the Chinese factories give everyone a good price. Thats why nearly everything is "Made in China" these days.
4)
doubts the pins were worth $2 million. “This stuff is junk metal,” Feild said. “A lot of the pins are like the freebie giveaways Disney offers at the cash registers on special occasions. Where do we start on this one. You can start with the invoce total for what was actually paid for the fraud pins. Plus all the other pins that were subsequently found or attributed to the guilty party. Or you can use the prosecutor's numbers based on the requested sale price or retail price - likely 2X or 8x higher. As for "freebie giveaway", I believe the term is "gift with purchase" not worthless item with purchase. The "free gift" has a value which still counts. Not to mention it is now "pin with purchase" where you have to pay a token $1 to $3 to get the pin. Perhaps Feild means "hidden mickey" or "cast lanyard" pins. But once again those pins aren't really free either. In IRS terms you're conducting barter. A valuable item "pin" in return for an item of value "another pin". Considering the most "cheap" legitimate pin purchases as part of a set of 7 at the park is roughtly $3 - 5, you can once again determine the real cost of this "free" excuse me in attorney speak "worthless, metal" item.
Personally I'm with the prosecutor on this one. The confession is very clear, he pled guilty "to importing $2 million worth of counterfeit Disney pins from China that he and a co-conspirator planned to sell online as genuine collectibles." If any of the above statements held weight, we would be reading about a trial and likely longer sentence, not a guilty plea. Even then he likley made a deal to lower the total amount of the fraud to get just the one year sentence.
