A Mattawamkeag man was found guilty Tuesday of mail fraud and two counts of copyright infringement for illegally copying and selling more than 48,000 movie DVDs from an online store.
A jury in U.S. District Court in Bangor found Douglas Gordon, 52, guilty of receiving more than $640,000 in ill-gotten profits from an online business. Gordon also ran a chain of video rental stores locally, according to a statement by the office of United States Attorney Halsey B. Frank.
During the trial, representatives from major movie studios and television networks, including MGM, CBS, Disney and Mercury Pictures, testified that Gordon was not the copyright holder to the materials he had sold online, and that the DVDs he distributed were counterfeit, Frank’s office said.
The case was based in part on undercover purchases made from three websites that Gordon controlled, and the execution of search warrants and forensic analysis of his computers by investigators with the Homeland Security Investigations division.
Customers of Gordon’s also testified at trial that online advertisements led them to believe they were purchasing a legitimate DVD copy of a movie complete with a plastic case and cover art. Instead, those customers received a paper envelope containing a burned disc with a laser-etched movie title, according to a statement by Frank’s office. Several of Gordon’s former video store employees also testified about his illegal reproduction of the copyrighted material, the statement said.
Gordon faces a maximum of 20 years in prison for the mail fraud conviction and an additional three years for each of the two copyright infringement convictions, in addition to a maximum $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release.
Gordon’ sentencing has not yet been scheduled.
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