Overview

• A federal judge in the Western District of Tennessee sentenced Steven R. Hale, 38, of Memphis, to 57 months in prison.
• Investigators say that from February 2021 to March 2022 he stole hundreds of pre-release DVDs and Blu-rays from a multinational manufacturer and sold them via e-commerce sites, with about 1,160 discs seized.
• One stolen Blu-ray of Spider-Man: No Way Home was ripped by bypassing encryption and shared online more than a month before the disc’s official release, resulting in tens of millions of downloads.
• In May, Hale pleaded guilty to criminal copyright infringement and agreed to full restitution, including returning the seized discs to his employer.
• He also pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a loaded pistol, and the FBI investigated as CCIPS and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Tennessee prosecuted.