Derby man resells ill-gotten Disney DVDs at $106,000 profit

It turns out the 60,000 Disney DVDs and Blu-rays a Derby man received from the Disney Movie Club were not for his own entertainment.

Harvey C. Self, a 47-year-old Derby resident, pleaded guilty to federal tax charges on Wednesday, also admitting he engaged in fraud to obtain the 60,000 movies at a discounted price to resell at a profit, according to a news release from Acting U.S. Attorney Tom Beall.

The Disney Movie Club is an official Disney website that lets people sign up to purchase Disney movies at a great discount. On its website, it advertises that people can get four movies for $1 with their initial registration – including free shipping on the initial order.

Self pleaded guilty to creating multiple false identities to qualify for the discounted movies, as well as giving the U.S. Postal Service false names and addresses for fraudulent purposes.

According to the release, once Self obtained the movies, he resold them at a profit – the net sales of which were more than $106,000.

Self also admitted overstating business losses in tax years 2011 and 2012, resulting in the government’s loss of $16,771 in 2011 and $31,420 in 2012.

Self faces sentencing on Oct. 17.

He faces a maximum penalty of three years in federal prison and a fine of up to $100,000 on each of the two tax counts, and up to five years and a fine of up to $250,000 on the postal fraud count.

This story was originally published July 21, 2016 at 6:22 PM with the headline "Derby man resells ill-gotten Disney DVDs at $106,000 profit ."