Pirate Sentenced to Four Years in Prison for Distributing Unreleased Films Online

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that Steven Hale, a former employee of an unnamed international company, has been sentenced to nearly four years in prison for stealing hundreds of DVDs and Blu-rays containing unreleased films and distributing them online.

Theft and Distribution

In May 2025, Hale pleaded guilty to stealing discs from his employer—a company contracted by major film studios to produce and distribute DVDs and Blu-rays—and selling them through online marketplaces between 2021 and 2022.

Among the titles Hale uploaded for illegal download were F9: The Fast Saga, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Godzilla vs. Kong, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Dune, and Black Widow.

Prosecutors say the most damaging leak came when Hale distributed a pre-release Blu-ray of Spider-Man: No Way Home. The film, released in theaters in 2021, was the first post-pandemic movie to surpass $1 billion at the global box office. Its disc sales were expected to be similarly lucrative—but those revenues were undercut when Hale’s pirated copy spread online.

Widespread Impact

The pirated version was downloaded tens of millions of times, according to the DOJ, resulting in “tens of millions of dollars” in damages to the rights holder. Researchers at ReasonLabs reported that demand was so high that scammers began embedding malware into pirated versions to maximize infections.

Hale reportedly bypassed digital rights management (DRM) protections to produce a clean, high-quality rip—far superior to the low-quality “cam” copies circulating at the time.

Sentencing and Charges

The 38-year-old Hale, previously convicted of armed robbery, initially faced up to 15 years in prison. Thanks to a plea deal, the maximum sentence was capped at five years. Authorities at the time said Hale had “taken responsibility,” which, combined with an early estimate of damages around $40,000, helped reduce his potential sentence.

Ultimately, Hale pleaded guilty to:

• Copyright infringement,
• Possession of a firearm (police found a handgun loaded with a round in the chamber and 13 rounds in the magazine), and
• Restitution obligations, including the return of approximately 1,160 stolen DVDs and Blu-rays seized during the investigation.

The U.S. District Court in Tennessee sentenced him to 57 months in prison—just under the five-year maximum.