San Diego

A San Diego woman and her son have pleaded guilty to multiple counts of selling counterfeit audio cassette tapes at a San Diego Sports Arena swap meet in December, authorities said Monday. At the time of their arrest, Dorothy H. Shafer, 61, and her 32-year-old son, John F. Shafer, had about 700 counterfeit tapes. The defendants were arrested after continuing to sell the tapes despite being informed a week earlier by a representative from the Record Industry Assn. of America that they were counterfeit, according to William Newsome, deputy city attorney in the consumer fraud unit. John Shafer was sentenced to three years’ probation and 20 days in jail, and his mother received three years’ probation and was ordered to pay a $1,000 fine. Newsome said the son received a harsher sentence because there was an indication he was responsible for the crime while his mother was not initially aware she was involved in an illegal act.