Team Xecuter, a piracy outfit notorious for exploiting video game console vulnerabilities as well as marketing and selling Nintendo hacks, has agreed to forego his right to a jury trial and has pleaded guilty to two offences.
Gary Bowser, who was initially arrested last year following years of crimes against Nintendo and other console manufacturers, has been charged with ‘Conspiracy to Circumvent Technological Measures and to Traffic in Circumention Devices’, as well as ‘Trafficking in Circumvention Devices’. Both charges can result in a maximum of five years imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000 ($500,000 for the latter), and mandatory special assessment charges.
Team Xecuter’s operation selling unlawful hacking equipment and pirated software has cost “more than $65 million and less than $150 million in losses to its victims,” according to the case, which has been documented as affecting Nintendo, Sony, Sega, C64, and Atari. It further mentions that the “illegal enterprise” was run by a core group of people, including Max Louarn and Yuanning Chen, and that it operated under a variety of identities, including Axiogame.com and Maxconsole.com.
Bowser must now pay Nintendo of America an apportioned sum of $4.5 million as part of his guilty plea (this figure is for Bowser alone, not for additional defendants who will be prosecuted individually). Bowser must also reveal all of his assets and commit to a “abandonment of contraband,” which means he must agree to the destruction of a number of devices seized from his Dominican Republic home, including a number of hard drives, smartphones, modchips, a Nintendo Switch, and a SNES mini.
The full copy of Gary Bowser’s plea agreement can be found here (with thanks to TorrentFreak).