An American based in Shanghai who sold pirated DVDs on the
Internet was deported back to the US yesterday after serving part
of his prison term, the Ministry of Public Security said.
Randolph Hobson Guthrie III, 38, was released to officers of the
US Department of Homeland Security after being arrested on July 1,
2004, in Shanghai.
On April 19, the Shanghai No. 2 Intermediate People's Court
sentenced him to two-and-a-half years in jail and fined him 500,000
yuan (US$61,600).
His three accomplices -- Abram Cody Thrush, Wu Dong and Wu
Shibiao -- were all given jail terms ranging up to 15 months and
fines of between 10,000 (US$1,233) and 30,000 yuan (US$3,699).
Thrush was deported on July 1.
According to an article published on March 7 in the Wall
Street Journal, Guthrie, son of a wealthy Manhattan plastic
surgeon, came to Shanghai in 1995.
He failed to find the type of job he wanted and happened onto
the pirated DVD business.
He built a lucrative business, advertising DVDs on eBay.com and
a Russian website, the Journal said, mostly selling James
Bond DVDs to enthusiasts.
But one of Guthrie's ads on eBay was seen by a lawyer for MGM
studios.
MGM notified the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA),
which contacted Chinese authorities in Shanghai. They then launched
the first joint Sino-US investigation into DVD piracy.
They observed Guthrie's operation undercover until they had
enough evidence to move in.
Local police found about 210,000 pirated DVDs at three
storehouses Guthrie owned.
Police revealed the four had sold pirated DVDs for US$3 each
from November 3, 2003, to July 1, 2004.
The court said the criminals sold 133,000 pirate DVDs worth more
than 3.3 million yuan (US$406,000) to more than 20 countries
including the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom and
Canada.
They earned nearly 1 million yuan (US$123,300) from the
business.
(China Daily September 30, 2005)