Springfieldian pleads guilty to counterfeit DVD scheme

A Springfield man pleaded guilty this week to charges related to a scheme to sell thousands of counterfeit DVDs online.

Matthew Cerullo, 42, waived his right to a grand jury and pleaded guilty Oct. 28 to four counts charging him with mail fraud, trafficking counterfeit labels and goods, and making false statements to federal agents, according to a news release from the office of Tammy Dickinson, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Missouri.

Using records obtained from the U.S. Postal Service, the United Parcel Service, DHL, eBay and Amazon, federal agents made the determination that Cerullo purchased and received more than 22,000 counterfeit DVDs from Hong Kong, China, between Feb. 13 and Sept. 10 of this year. The investigation began after U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized counterfeit DVDs being shipped to a UPS store in Springfield under the name of a business owned by Cerullo.

In a May interview with Homeland Security Investigation officials, Cerullo said he had not received a seizure notice from Customs and that he only purchased and resold toys and jewelry from China on eBay. Cerullo also told investigators he only owned one business, C3 Wholesale LLC. During the investigation, agents learned Cerullo's statement contained false information designed to mislead investigators. It was determined Cerullo has received four seizure notices from Customs and owned, operated and sold counterfeit DVDs through three other businesses: EJC Supply LLC; Midwest Wholesale and Capital Sierra LLC; and EJC Supply Co., the release said.

Early last month, agents witnessed Cerullo mail several packages at a local post office. The contents were found to contain 165 packages of counterfeit DVDs being mailed to individuals around the country. The return address on the packages also was fraudulent.

On Sept. 4, federal agents executed a search warrant on Cerullo's Springfield home and a storage locker he rented, discovering more than 22,000 counterfeit DVDs.

Under federal statutes, Cerullo could receive up to 40 years in federal prison without parole, as well as a fine of up to $1 million and order of restitution. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled following the presentence investigation by the U.S. Probation Office, the release said.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistance U.S. Attorney Patrick Carney, and it was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security.[[In-content Ad]]