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Associated PressJacksonville officers seize 10,000 CDs and DVDs in searches of businesses and a home.
JACKSONVILLE - Six business owners were charged with making or selling counterfeit CDs after police raids on several stores and a home.
The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office seized more than 10,000 illegal compact discs and DVDs in the searches, according to arrest reports.
Deputies found about 20 CD copiers and thousands of bootleg discs at the home, the reports said.
The searches were conducted in cooperation with the recording industry, said Sgt. Frank Japour of the Sheriff's Office. The industry has complained that low-priced pirated music is undermining the entertainment industry and law-abiding retailers.
An executive from the Recording Industry Association of America told detectives in May that thousands of unauthorized recordings were being sold each month in northeast Florida, typically priced between $5 and $10 each, several dollars below normal retail prices.
Arrested and charged were Antonio D. Blair, 31; Donald F. Broomfield, 27; Isiah W. Brown, 35; Anthony T. Jacobs, 44; Sedrick Miller, 24; and Caleb B. Riggins, 39.
They face varying charges, all involving a state law against making or selling bootleg recordings. All are third-degree felonies, punishable by one to five years in prison.
Man accused of selling pirated software on NetMIAMI - A man was released on $75,000 bail Monday after he was accused of selling $1-million worth of bootlegged computer software promoted with spam e-mail and Internet ads.
Armando Villa of Hialeah was charged with criminal copyright infringement after customers complained that he broke a promise to provide software that was "new and in the box." An undercover postal inspector followed up by answering Villa's spam.
If convicted, he could face up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.