DarkReading reports that a Michigan woman pled guilty to selling more than $400,000 worth of counterfeit computer software. The conviction was announced by Assistant Attorney General of the Criminal Division Lanny A. Breuer and U.S. Attorney Barbara L. McQuade for the Eastern District of Michigan. The report says Jacinda Jones, 31, of Ypsilanti, Mich., pled guilty to one count of willful copyright infringement before U.S. District Judge David M. Lawson in Detroit.
Darkreading cites court documents which say, between July 2008 and January 2010, Ms. Jones earned more than $400,000 by selling over 7,000 copies of pirated business software at discounted prices through the website www.cheapdl.com (which no longer appears active). The Business Software Alliance (BSA) says that Ms. Jones also used Cheapsoftwaredownloads.net, and JJ’s Discount Electronics (jjsdiscountelectronics.com) for her activities as well.
The software in question was from Microsoft (MSFT), Adobe (ADBE), Intuit (INTU) and Symantec (SYMC) had a retail value of more than $2 million. According to court documents cited by Darkreading, Ms. Jones’ activities came to the attention of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, who made several undercover purchases of the pirated business and utility software.
At sentencing, Ms. Jones faces maximum penalties of five years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release. During her guilty plea hearing, the article says Ms. Jones also agreed to forfeit any illegal proceeds from her criminal activity and pay restitution to the victims. Sentencing has been scheduled for Aug. 15, 2011, at 9 a.m.
The post says Assistant U.S. Attorney Terrence Berg of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan and Trial Attorney Thomas Dougherty of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section are prosecuting the case. The Field Support Unit of the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center (IPR Center) and by ICE’s Office of Homeland Security Investigations in Detroit conducted the investigation.
Related articles
- One Grave Problem: Counterfeiting, Piracy and IP Theft (ipwatchdog.com)
Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.
Yikes! I’ve always wondered if she would get a normal attorney or an intellectual property lawyer.