Ortiz

Defendant challenges the condition of her probation requiring restitution under Penal Code section 1202.4. We conclude the trial court properly found a nonprofit trade association stood in the shoes of the direct victims of defendant’s crime and was entitled to restitution for economic loss incurred as the result of the defendant’s criminal conduct. We also conclude the amount of restitution ordered was rationally calculated and based on substantial evidence. Therefore, we affirm the judgment.

Facts and Proceedings Below

Defendant Vicenta R. Ortiz was found to have possessed for sale approximately 53,000 counterfeit cassette tapes. She was convicted on one count of violating section 653w, subdivision (a) and placed on five years’ probation. As a condition of probation, the trial court ordered Ortiz to pay restitution to the Association of Latin American Record Manufacturers (ALARM).

The evidence at trial and at Ortiz’s restitution hearing showed ALARM is a nonprofit trade association representing various Latin American music labels in an effort to find and destroy counterfeit versions of their recordings and assist in the prosecution of persons involved in the…