Log in

Courts

Scottsdale man jailed in $23M music fraud case

Duo used YouTube videos, illegally claimed they owned songs' copyright

A Scottsdale man has been sentenced to nearly six years in prison in what officials described as the largest music royalty scam ever conducted, netting more than $23 million.

Jose Teran, 38, of Scottsdale, was sentenced on June 26 to 70 months in prison for his part in the scheme, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced.

U.S. District Judge Douglas L. Rayes issued the sentence, according to a press release.

You must be a member to read this story.

Join our family of readers starting at $5 for your first month and support local, unbiased journalism.


Already have an account? Log in to continue.

Otherwise, follow the link below to join.

Please log in to continue

Log in
I am anchor
Courts

Scottsdale man jailed in $23M music fraud case

Duo used YouTube videos, illegally claimed they owned songs' copyright

Posted

A Scottsdale man has been sentenced to nearly six years in prison in what officials described as the largest music royalty scam ever conducted, netting more than $23 million.

Jose Teran, 38, of Scottsdale, was sentenced on June 26 to 70 months in prison for his part in the scheme, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced.

U.S. District Judge Douglas L. Rayes issued the sentence, according to a press release.

Teran pleaded guilty to conspiracy, wire fraud, and transactional money laundering on Feb. 3. Teran’s plea followed a Nov. 6, 2021, indictment in which a federal grand jury charged him and co-conspirator Webster Batista with 30 felony counts involving conspiracy, wire fraud, transactional money laundering, and aggravated identity theft.

In his guilty plea, Teran admitted to conspiring with Batista to use a company named MediaMuv LLC to steal royalties from 50,000 song titles resulting in them receiving $23.4 million, officials said.

According to a report in Billboard, the duo discovered thousands of songs that weren't being monetized on YouTube. They then uploaded the songs on the platform, claimed with YouTube  they were the copyright holder, and that they were entitled to royalties from each play.

Artists included in their uploads included Julio Iglesias, Prince Royce, Daddy Yankee, Don Omar and others, according to Billboard.

Batista pleaded guilty to conspiracy and wire fraud in April 2022. He will be sentenced in August 2023.

Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation conducted the investigation in this case. Assistant United States Attorneys Raymond K. Woo and Seth T. Goertz, District of Arizona, Phoenix, are handling the prosecution.

If you believe you were defrauded by the defendants in this case, and would like further information, visit: https://www.justice.gov/usao-az/programs/victim-notifications/US-v-Webster-Batista-Fernandez-et-al.

Share with others


Have an opinion on this story? Click here to send a letter to our editors.

Comments

No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here