Couple smuggled hundreds of fake Disney DVDs from China to sell on eBay, feds say

A husband and wife were selling counterfeit Disney DVDs on eBay — and they made a “substantial income” doing so, according to federal authorities.

That was until the couple from Columbia, Missouri, was caught smuggling hundreds of the fake DVDs from companies in China, authorities said in a Feb. 8 news release.

Tabitha Nicole Rodgers, 43, was recently sentenced in the Western District of Missouri to four years in federal prison without parole, according to court records. She’s also ordered to pay $26,573 in restitution after authorities said she obtained Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits that she was not entitled to.

Her husband, 49-year-old Clint Travis Rodgers, was previously sentenced to a year in prison without parole.

Tabitha Rodgers had pleaded guilty in October 2021 to a felony count of criminal copyright infringement for profit, officials said. That same day, Clint Rodgers pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of criminal infringement of a copyright.

The defense attorneys representing the Rodgerses did not immediately respond to a request for comment from McClatchy News on Feb. 9.

An investigation into the Rodgerses began in July 2014, when Homeland Security Investigations received a tip from the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center, according to the release. The tip said “Clint Rodgers had received more than 443 shipments of counterfeit DVDs from companies in Hong Kong known to sell and export counterfeit goods.”

Two shipments were seized before they made it to the Rodgerses’ home, officials said. HSI agents found 200 counterfeit “Beauty and the Beast” DVDs in one of the shipments and 260 counterfeit “Aladdin” DVDs in the second shipment.

In February 2015, agents with Customs and Border Protection seized another package headed to the Rodgerses’ home, authorities said. It had 200 more counterfeit Disney DVDs.

Undercover HSI agents purchased Disney DVDs, including “Aladdin” and “The Little Mermaid,” from eBay accounts associated with the couple in 2015, according to court records.

“The Rodgers represented that the DVDs were genuine and authentic Disney products, when in reality, they were aware the products were counterfeit,” authorities said.

As part of the investigation, federal agents found two people who helped the Rodgerses in selling the DVDs when the couple’s own accounts were canceled “due to counterfeit merchandise being sold,” according to court records.

“They told agents they were aware of numerous complaints from customers, including complaints that the DVDs didn’t work,” officials said.

Investigators executed a search warrant at the Rodgerses’ home in August 2015, where they found “an assortment of counterfeit goods, including numerous counterfeit Disney DVDs,” according to the release.

Tabitha Rodgers admitted that the couple was selling counterfeit Disney products as though they were real, according to court records.

“Tabitha Rodgers admitted that she conducted the day-to-day operation of the business,” officials said. “She corresponded via email with the counterfeit DVD supplier in Hong Kong and placed orders for the DVDs. She also packaged and sent the DVDs to customers and processed customer complaints when DVDs were inoperable. Clint Rodgers assisted by helping recruit third parties to use their eBay accounts to sell the DVDs for them.”

Columbia is about 125 miles southeast of Kansas City.

Man manufactured thousands of counterfeit $100 bills in his MA home, feds say

Art collector spent $118K on 400-year-old woodblocks and got fakes, lawsuit says

‘Rare’ Pokémon ‘collectors cards’ sold across the US were fake, Oklahoma police say