Police uncover suspected DVD pirating operation

A local couple is saying the DVDs seized from their home this week as part of an investigation into what police believe is a pirating operation, were actually legally held, uncopyrighted old black-and-white westerns they were selling to collectors to fund the a man’s cancer treatment.

Paul Buchsbaum, 31, and Jennifer McGuire, 30, were arrested Monday afternoon after Nye County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to their home on Marne Court for a report of a domestic in progress.

When officers arrived at the residence, they reportedly met with Buchsbaum, who was standing in the front yard. Shortly after making contact with the male, he was taken into custody on charges of domestic battery, kidnapping and felony use of an electronic stun device.

According to the victim, Buchsbaum’s wife McGuire, the couple got into an argument after she tried to leave, stating she wanted to get out of the house for a little while.

As deputies searched the residence for any other occupants possibly involved in the domestic battery case, one officer discovered a hallway closet that contained several grouping of DVDs with names and/or disc numbers on them, which appeared to be part of some kind of set.

When the deputy asked McGuire about the collection, she allegedly informed him they were part of her husband’s business and that the DVDs he was inquiring about were the “masters.”

McGuire then led the deputy to the garage where an arrest report notes there were approximately 4,000 copies of movies and television shows neatly stacked by title on two metal racks.

Additionally, the deputy reportedly observed six computer towers, each with the appropriate hardware to make copies of the titles onto separate DVDs, as well as several laptop computers, pre-cut DVD face stickers, blank DVD boxes and several printed images of what appeared to be DVD case front inserts.

Deputies also reportedly found a large quantity of large yellow shipping envelopes, containing copies of the allegedly pirated materials, both in the garage and inside the residence, which had been packaged and labeled to be sent to customers both here in the United States as well as internationally.

A search of the interior of the home also allegedly turned up additional blank shipping envelopes, DVD cases, DVD labels and numerous printer ink cartridges.

McGuire allegedly told officers on scene that Buchsbaum produced and the DVDs and that he had set up numerous websites where individuals are able to purchase them.

When asked what her involvement in the business was, she allegedly told police all she did was deliver the packaged items to the post office.

McGuire allegedly further told police that she and her husband had on average been generating approximately $200,000 in revenue annually from sales of their DVDs.

Buchsbaum reportedly told police he owned copyrights to all of the DVDs found in the home, however, he could not produce any documents stating such at the time of his arrest.

After McGuire told police about the alleged business, she was placed under arrest on charges of unlawful acts regarding computers, theft and conspiracy to commit theft and transported to the Nye County Detention Center to be booked into custody along with her husband.

McGuire was released by a judge the following morning on her own recognizance.

Buchsbaum, however, remained in custody as of Thursday morning at the local jail in lieu of $27,500.

McGuire said it seemed to be a misunderstanding with police, explaining that the movies her husband was producing copies of were old, black-and-white westerns from the 30s and 40s, which had no owners and had never been made into a DVD or VHS for commercial sale.

“Everything we’re making are from like the 30s and 40s that have never been, they don’t have copyrights, they’ve never been put to DVD or VHS, they’re really old, like ‘The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickock,’ really old black-and-white westerns that no one have ever heard of. And we make sure they don’t have any copyrights or anything like that,” McGuire said.

The only time the couple ever got in trouble for selling copyrighted material was when they were sued by Warner Brothers for selling a copy of an old Hanna-Barbera cartoon they didn’t realize was owned by the company.

“Warner Brothers found out we were selling that one cartoon and they sued us for $17,500 and then we paid that off in about six months and they told us “as long as you don’t sell that one, you’re OK and we’ll leave you alone.’ So it’s not like we’re selling movies or anything that’s new. We’re not selling cartoons like you’d see on Nickelodeon. The stuff we sell you would never see on TV – ever. The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickock, Highway Patrol, things like that. The black-and-white old westerns that don’t have any owners or copyrights,” she explained.

The business began more than a year ago after McGuire said her husband became ill with cancer and soon after developed epilepsy, which prevented him from finding traditional work outside the home. She said the money earned by the operation was being used to support the family and pay for his cancer treatments.

“He got cancer and he had seizures so he couldn’t work outside the home. So he found this website that was doing the same thing he’s doing and he found more and more places, eBay and other websites, where people were selling these DVDs of old westerns, so we’re not the only people who do it,” she said. “So he would buy their DVDs and basically mock what they were doing to make money for his treatment and stuff like that.”

Though the majority of the business’s products were seized as evidence after police raided the home earlier this week, McGuire said she was just happy to be back home and to have her dog back. The dog was also taken from the home after both she and Buchsbaum were arrested.

She said she looked forward to getting the situation straightened out in the future and moving on.