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A Beltsville woman pleaded guilty June 11 to selling more than $70,000 in counterfeit DVDs.

Authorities allege that Yong Liu, 41, received and sold thousands of unauthorized DVDs in 2008. She faces a maximum fives years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

"There's a lot of counterfeit merchandise that circulates around the United States," said U.S. Attorney Rod Rosenstein. "I hope this will cause people to be more aware of the issue."

According to the signed plea agreement's statement of facts, U.S. Customs and Border protection officers intercepted a package shipped to Yong from Beijing, China. Inside, they found 1,025 counterfeit Baby Einstein children's learning DVDs.

A month later, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent purchased a 25-disc Baby Einstein DVD collection for $45.98 on eBay from a seller identified as Yong. The next day, the Walt Disney Company, owner of the Baby Einstein franchise, issued a cease-and-desist order to Yong.

Yong continued to sell the DVDs on eBay using a new account name and e-mail address. On May 28, 2008, agents purchased another Baby Einstein collection purchase from her.

On Sept. 28, 2008, authorities searched Yong's Beltsville home and found 2,132 packaged DVDs.

From eBay and PayPal records, investigators discovered she had sold more than 10 Baby Einstein DVD collections between May 1 and 10 valued at more than $6,000.

They also found she had sold about $65,084 worth of additional unauthorized DVDs and computer software in 2008.

"Usually, it's part of a broader scheme that involves multiple shipments," Rosenstein said. "I think that this is really just the tip of the iceberg."

Yong and her attorney, Robert Bonsib, signed a plea agreement Feb. 26 and officially pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt on June 11.

"They could have signed the agreement and then retracted it," said Marcia Murphy, spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office. "We won't ever confirm a guilty plea until they announce it in court."

Yong is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 4.

Calls to Bonsib's office and cell phone were not returned.