Last Thursday, a former employee of a multinational DVD and Blu-ray manufacturer and distributor was sentenced to 57 months in prison, nearly five years, for stealing DVDs and Blu-rays of "blockbuster movies" and selling them before their release dates. 

According to the Justice Department, 38-year-old Steven R. Hale of Memphis, Tennessee, worked for the DVD manufacturer. From February 2021 to March 2022, Hale stole more than 1,000 discs that were being prepped for commercial distribution in the U.S.