Employee Charged in ‘Spider-Man’ Pre-Release Blu-ray Theft Linked to Mass Piracy

A former employee of a disc manufacturing company in Memphis has been indicted on charges of stealing and selling pre-release DVDs and Blu-rays of popular films, including "Spider-Man: No Way Home." The indictment links the sales to widespread availability of the movie on pirate sites. The defendant faces charges of criminal copyright infringement and interstate transportation of stolen goods, with potential penalties of up to 20 years imprisonment.  

Three years ago, pirated Blu-ray copies of “Spider-Man: No Way Home” began circulating on pirate sites, weeks before their official release.

The early online leaks were attributed to the infamous release group EVO, that was known for distributing copyrighted movies and TV shows, including pre-release content.

EVO was dismantled by the Portuguese authorities in late 2022, leading to multiple arrests. However, there is no evidence that EVO’s demise had anything to do with the Spider-Man leak.

The source of this highly unlikely breach also remained unknown, until this week, when the U.S. Department of Justice indicted the alleged wrongdoer.

U.S. Indicts Blu-ray Production Employee

Pre-release leaks generally attract the attention of law enforcement, and the Spider-Man leak was no exception. Following an in-depth investigation by the FBI, the authorities pinpointed the alleged source in Memphis, Tennessee.

In an indictment unsealed last week, now 37-year-old Steven Hale is accused of stealing several Blu-rays and DVDs from his former employee. The defendant worked at a disc manufacturing and distribution company in Memphis between 2021 and 2022, which provided him with access to pre-release discs.

Hale allegedly stole numerous pre-release discs of popular films including Spider-Man: No Way Home, F9: The Fast Saga, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Godzilla v. Kong, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Dune, and Black Widow.

The indictment charges Hale with two counts of criminal copyright infringement and one count of interstate transportation of stolen goods. If found guilty, maximum penalties for these crimes include up to 20 years of imprisonment.

From eBay to Pirate Sites?

In a press release, the Department of Justice alleges that Hale sold the DVDs and Blu-rays through e-commerce platforms. This is interesting because we previously observed that Spider-Man Blu-rays were sold on eBay before being leaked online.

Below is one of the eBay listings that was online at the time, but there may have been more. Whether these are connected to the defendant is unknown.

U.S. authorities suggest that one of the sold physical copies was ripped, presumably by a third party, and subsequently released online. This may have been how EVO eventually got their hands on the movie.

“At least one pre-release Blu-ray that Hale allegedly stole and sold, ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home,’ was ‘ripped’ — that is, extracted from the Blu-ray by bypassing the encryption that prevents unauthorized copying — and copied,” the DoJ writes.

“That digital copy was then illegally made available over the internet more than a month before the Blu-ray’s official scheduled release date. Copies of ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ were downloaded tens of millions of times, with an estimated loss to the copyright owner of tens of millions of dollars.”

Spider-Man No Way Home.2022.1080p.Bluray.DTS-HD.MA.5.1.X264-EVO

Unanswered Questions

The indictment doesn’t mention the name of the company where Hale worked, the only reference is to “victim 1”. However, there are not many large disc manufacturing and distribution companies in Memphis, so it’s not difficult to make an educated guess.

The e-commerce platforms also go unnamed in the indictment. The FBI investigation appears to be ongoing, so it’s likely that additional details will emerge in future filings, as the case progresses.

This may also shed more light on the sales of these stolen pre-release DVDs and Blu-rays, and who ripped and shared “Spider-Man: No Way Home” copy that was eventually posted online through EVO and others.

For now, Hale is presumed innocent, as is the case for all criminal defendants. On Thursday, the Tennessee federal court determined that he was unable to pay for a lawyer to represent him, so a public defender was appointed instead.

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A copy of the indictment, dated February 13 and unsealed law week at the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, is available here (pdf)

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