MEMPHIS, TN – A former employee of a DVD and Blu-ray manufacturing company was sentenced today to 57 months in federal prison for stealing hundreds of pre-release movie discs and selling them online, as well as for illegally possessing a firearm.
According to court documents, 38-year-old Steven R. Hale of Memphis worked for a multinational company that manufactured and distributed DVDs and Blu-rays for major movie studios. Between February 2021 and March 2022, Hale stole pre-release copies of films including F9: The Fast Saga, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Godzilla v. Kong, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Dune, and Black Widow.
Federal prosecutors said Hale sold the stolen discs through e-commerce sites. One of the stolen Blu-rays, Spider-Man: No Way Home, was illegally copied and distributed online more than a month before its official release. That pirated version was downloaded tens of millions of times, resulting in estimated losses of tens of millions of dollars to the copyright owner.
In addition to the piracy charges, Hale was also convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Authorities recovered a loaded pistol with one round in the chamber and 13 in the magazine. Hale has prior felony convictions for armed robbery and attempted robbery.
Hale pleaded guilty in May 2025 to criminal copyright infringement and unlawful firearm possession. As part of his plea agreement, he agreed to return approximately 1,160 stolen DVDs and Blu-rays and pay full restitution.
The FBI investigated the case. The prosecution was handled by the Department of Justice’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Tennessee.
