Two men were charged today with selling counterfeit movies following an investigation tipped by the Bureau of Investigations.
Detectives with the Lee County Sheriff’s Office were notified by the FBI in March that a local business was selling counterfeit DVDs. Based on this information, Lee County Sheriff’s Office detectives initiated an investigation which resulted in the arest of Ricardo Lorenzo, 34, of 2651 Celigro Road, Alva, and Tomas Matthew Malave, 26, of 2125 SW 44th Terrace, Cape Coral.
Lorenzo is charged with four counts of Passing Counterfeit DVD’s or Movies, Possession of Cocaine, Possession of Narcotics Equipment, and Possession of Marijuana with Intent to Sell. Malave is also charged with four counts of Passing Counterfeit DVD’s or Movies, Possession of Cocaine, Possession of Narcotics Equipment, and Possession of Marijuana with Intent to Sell.
On March 16, an investigator with the Motion Pictures Association of America, working with Lee County Sheriff’s Office detectives, reported that she purchased a counterfeit copy of “Slumdog Millionare” from the Unique Auto Spa, at 11796-A Metro Parkway, Fort Myers. While making this purchase, the investigator was also able to collect visual evidence that several other counterfeit movie titles were also being sold out of the business, officials said, adding that two subsequent trips back to the business resulted in the purchase of several more counterfeit movies.
Investigators also said that, during the course of the investigation, they discovered a scale possibly used for the sale of cocaine, and an undisclosed amount of marijuana.

Source: Lee County Sheriff’s Office