Grant helps fight against media piracy

The California attorney general's office and the Sacramento Valley Hi-Tech Crimes Task Force have been awarded $405,258 to combat the manufacture, purchase and sale of counterfeit and pirated products.

The attorney general's office will receive $200,000 of the grant to support its efforts to enhance state law enforcement's response to intellectual-property theft.

The Sacramento Valley Hi-Tech Crimes Task Force was awarded the other $205,258 to assist state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies in enforcing IP laws.

The task force already has been part of the investigation into two large-scale multidefendant cases that have resulted in 12 convictions so far. USA v. Caballero et al. and USA v. Munoz et al.

Using warehouses and garages in Sacramento, San Jose and Modesto, the defendants allegedly manufactured counterfeit media and sold them at flea markets in Galt, Modesto and elsewhere.