JACKSON – A man being investigated on an aggravated assault matter was later arrested and charged with selling counterfeit CDs and DVDs. Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood said 51-year old Richard Earl Tyler was charged with five counts of distribution of CD/DVDs without the display of required information, which Hood said is a violation of Mississippi Code Ann. Section 97-23-89.
The investigation against Tyler began when the Biloxi Police Department initiated an aggravated assault case against him. During the course of that investigation, Biloxi police discovered a “substantial amount” of counterfeit CDs and DVDs.
Biloxi police then contacted Homeland Security Investigations, a member of the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office Knock Out Knock-Offs task force, which then contacted the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office.
Hood said investigators from his office are “trained experts in the detection and recognition of counterfeit CD/DVDs.”
The joint task force investigation of Tyler by Homeland Security and the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office has taken over 13,000 illegal CD/DVD off the streets and out of circulation on the underground black market for this type of contraband.
“It takes this type of networking among our law enforcement agencies to crack these type of cases and is exactly the reason we created the Operation Knock Out Knock-Offs Task Force,” said Attorney General Hood. “I really appreciate the great investigative work of our officers with Biloxi Police Department and Homeland Security.”
“The trade in counterfeit goods costs legitimate businesses billions of dollars in lost revenue. Sometimes the illicit proceeds support other criminal activities in the United States and around the world,” said Raymond R. Parmer, Jr., special agent in charge of HSI in New Orleans. “Our efforts are strengthened by coordinating with our law enforcement partners.”
Tyler was transported to a jail in Biloxi. If convicted, he faces up to three years in prison, a $10,000 fine, or both on each count, for a total potential of 15 years in prison, a $50,000 fine, or both.
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