From 'Panda Power' to Prison: Fraudster Sentenced

BOSTON – A Randolph man who made false claims that DreamWorks stole his idea for the animated movie 'Kung Fu Panda' was sentenced Wednesday.

Jayme Gordon, 51, claimed upon seeing Kung Fu Panda's theatrical trailer before the movie's 2008 release that he had previously created drawings and a story similar to 'Kung Fu Panda.' While Gordon had created panda-related work for a project he called 'Panda Power,' it had little resemblance to the movies. But he revised his drawings, renaming his story 'Kung Fu Panda Power,' in an effort to make his work appear more like 'Kung Fu Panda.'

Gordon filed a copyright infringement suit against DreamWorks in February 2011 in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts. Later that year he proposed a $12 million settlement. DreamWorks rejected and the litigation continued for two years.

Through the course of the civil litigation, Gordon intentionally deleted relevant evidence he was told to produce and lied during testimony. Gordon also fabricated and backdated sketches to support his claims, as well as having clearly traced some of his panda drawings from a Lion King coloring book.

Gordon was sentenced to two years in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $3 million in restitution. He was found guilty in November of federal wired fraud and perjury charges.

Images courtesy DOJ