The defendant appeared with his counsel Bruce Berline while the federal government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric O’Malley.
Il Cho will be referred to the CNMI Immigration Office to determine his deportability.
The federal court states that if immediate deportation does not occur, Il Cho will immediately report to the U.S. Probation Of fice for supervision.
The defendant must not commit another federal, state or local crime. He must not possess or use a controlled substance and should refrain from excessive alcohol. He will submit to the collection of a DNA sample at the direction of the U.S. Probation Office.
The defendant, moreover, is prohibited from possessing a firearm or other dangerous weapon, and will complete 100 hours of community service.
The court ordered that all properties seized as part of the offense will be forfeited to the U.S. government.
Il Cho must pay a special assessment fee of $100 immediately after the sentencing.
The court further ordered the cash bond exonerated and dispersed to the person who posted the bond.
The federal government, which noted that the defendant accepted responsibility for his actions, recommended a sentence of one year probation and one year supervised release.
The defense asked that Il Cho be sentenced to probation and to be allowed to escort his mother, who is ill, to Korea.
Il Cho is willing to forfeit anything that was seized by the authorities and is deemed appropriate for forfeiture.
Regarding the defendant’s request to accompany his mother to Korea, the federal court stated that he must make the necessary arrangements with the Probation Office if he is not deported.
Cho, 46, and his 50-year-old employer, Min Jo, were arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investi gation agents on April 14, 2008 following a raid conducted at the Seoul Video Store in Chalan Kanoa.
They were indicted on three counts of counts of copyright infringement.
An FBI agent stated that a search at the Seoul Video Store in March 26 this year resulted in the seizure of thousands of DVDs and VHS tapes of newly released motion pictures, 32 DVD and VHS players and recorders, 10 boxes of blank DVD-Rs, 26 boxes of label paper, 10 boxes of VHS labels, 10 DVD “burners,” six bottles of printing ink, and several pages of DVD labels.
The FBI agent stated that the defendants admitted that they purchased the DVDs from Korea, copied them to be sold or rented to their customers on Saipan.
