FBI Conducts First-Ever 2257 Records Inspections
CHATSWORTH, CA – Five agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted 2257 records inspections of a major producer of adult content Monday; the first inspection of its kind.Jeffrey Douglas, Chairman of the Free Speech Coalition (FSC) and attorney for the company in question, told YNOT he was not authorized by his client to disclose the name of the company (or companies), that was inspected today.
According to reports published on AVN.com, however, the company inspected was Diabolic Video. As source for the information, AVN cites Diabolic Video owner, Greg Allan.
Douglas said that the inspection was handled by the FBI exclusively, and there were no members of the Los Angeles Police Dept. or other local law enforcement present. Douglas said that the FBI agents used their own equipment to make copies of the records, and that the agents sought documentation pertaining to a specific list of films.
Douglas noted that while the agents were working from a specific list of films, “it is not known whether their inspection is limited to these films.”
According to Douglas, the inspection “took more than half the day” before the agents left with the copies they had made of the company’s records. Douglas said the company in question had “hard copies” of the required documentation and that the records were in “excellent condition.”
The FSC issued a press release today announcing that the “Federal Government has initiated the first of the long-awaited 2257 inspections,” and urging all producers of adult content to check with their own attorney as to their status and whether they would be considered primary producers, secondary producers, or both.
“If you are a primary producer or a primary and a ‘secondary’ producer, expect an inspection,” the FSC stated in its release. “If you are in the latter category and are also a member of the Free Speech Coalition, only the primary producer records are subject to inspection.”
The release added that for those FSC members who are exclusively secondary producers, or both primary and secondary producers, “it is important that you ask your lawyer how to decline the Federal inspection, and notify the FSC office as soon as possible if such an inspection is attempted.”
Douglas said it was crucial to note that the company inspected today was a primary producer and therefore not covered by the preliminary injunction that bars the Federal Government from inspecting secondary producers who are members of the FSC.
Douglas added that it is essential for FSC members who are both primary and secondary producers to segregate their records accordingly, as the government “has the right to inspect one and not the other.”