The United States Department of Justice has shared some news regarding Team-Xecuter, which doesn't appear to be a good sign for the company. Gary Bowser, known on GBAtemp as garyopa, Max Louarn, and Yuanning Chen have all been arrested in Seattle, Washington. The US Government classifies these men as "leaders of one of the world's most notorious videogame piracy groups", and will be facing a federal indictment charge, for the selling of illegal hardware that facilitates piracy.

“These defendants lined their pockets by stealing and selling the work of other video-game developers – even going so far as to make customers pay a licensing fee to play stolen games,” said U.S. Attorney Brian Moran for the Western District of Washington. “This conduct doesn’t just harm billion dollar companies, it hijacks the hard work of individuals working to advance in the video-game industry.”

The FBI has also been involved, with each defendant to be charged under 11 felony counts, ranging from wire fraud, trafficking circumvention devices, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. One of the defendants, Louarn, has not yet been extradited, though Bowser has, where he was seen in the court hearing that took place today.

In September 2020, Louarn and Bowser were arrested abroad in connection with the charges in this case. The United States will seek Louarn’s extradition to stand trial in the United States. Bowser was arrested and deported from the Dominican Republic, and appeared today in federal court, in New Jersey.

Each defendant is charged with 11 felony counts, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to circumvent technological measures and to traffic in circumvention devices, trafficking in circumvention devices, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Source

 

[Tenny]

So are you telling me i can sell rocket launchers on Amazon?

i mean you could but I guess they have some kind of keyword filter.

 

[ertaboy356b]

People have been doing this for decades with flashcarts. So uh, good point I guess. You sound more like someone who couldn't afford an SX product, and now feel vindicated, but whatever. Also, you do know that the stuff necessary for developing the things that enable free piracy costs money, right? None of it is free.

I totally agree with the other guy that piracy is free, if your a leech that is.

 

[Legendaykai]

Best news I heard all day. Nice work Nintendo, now do us all a solid and please add a theme store aswell as a file managment system like the 3ds and add the virtual console starting with gamecube and n64 games 3D all stars prooves it's possible so there's no excuse

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Guess Nintendo got sick of modders tinkering on what shouldn't be don to their systems. About time they got more forecful.

But if they got romsites it really only is a matter of time before this goes down too So it's best to get ready before it actually happens.

 

[leerpsp]

Best news I heard all day. Nice work Nintendo, now do us all a solid and please add a theme store aswell as a file managment system like the 3ds and add the virtual console starting with gamecube and n64 games 3D all stars prooves it's possible so there's no excuse

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Guess Nintendo got sick of modders tinkering on what shouldn't be don to their systems. About time they got more forecful.

But if they got romsites it really only is a matter of time before this goes down too So it's best to get ready before it actually happens.

don't think this web page will go down because of Nintendo its not agents the law to talk about this stuff or used some ones homebrew game or app so unless Nintendo was given a card to take peoples rights away it will not happen.

 

[godreborn]

a lot of good sites have moved underground. I recently became a member of usenet again after being gone for like 12 years. nzb matrix was the shit back then. now, a lot of good sites won't show you anything unless you're signed in. and, signing in requires a subscription, so you don't know if the site is crap or not unless there's a free trial of some sort. I found a good site like that after having a couple episodes disappeared from a torrent or actually they weren't even in the torrent. they're (usent) hit with dmca as well, but far less than torrents, and even less so if they're underground or require a subscription or are invite only, which a lot of them are now. most things on the switch are easy to find by doing a quick google search, so I wouldn't worry about that just yet. I got a good deal on usenet for labor day $3/month on astraweb. I hadn't even retested it 'til today aside from testing if the server made a connection.

 

[ChronoTrig]

Guess Nintendo got sick of modders tinkering on what shouldn't be don to their systems. About time they got more forecful.
But if they got romsites it really only is a matter of time before this goes down too So it's best to get ready before it actually happens.

If they wanted to go after this site then they would have years ago or they would have already subpoena'd the owners.
Please be realistic in the matter instead of dangerously negative where you may scare people who may not know better.


As it has been noted, they went after TX because Nintendo wanted them for hindering their IP (corporate business -- c'mon-- common sense they would get involved) of creating potential piraters in the thousands (worldwide) making money off of it (software -- they pushed SXOS in adverts as the primary way to pirate games first and foremost and hardware), but mainly as someone said previously, because the US Govt doesn't like money laundering / wire fraud-- dont try and screw around on the US Govt soil-- which is why the indictment occurred. That's the only reason why things got to that point. And going after the other resellers who were on US grounds (stupid) was because fair game and collateral damage to make a point and scare off the other resellers.
TX should've never sold a license for SXOS and instead just sold their chip like the old Xbox days where you installed the chip then had to use telnet to get the firmware to even use the chip. TX got greedy now, got sloppy with their moves and it caught upto them.

They could've shook Nintendo like they had in the past, but the sketchy crap with money laundering and wire fraud is where the US Govt stepped in and then started to take them head on. That's where it fell apart.

 

[godreborn]

afaik, the only way temp could go down is if it were supplying warez, even more likely if they were charging for them. there may be some grey area when it comes to talking about piracy. I was a member of psx place, and you can't even help with piracy on there. I'm not sure if it matters. temp has existed for 16 years? I think was originally a warez site, but I wasn't around back then. it doesn't really matter to me if you pirated a game or not. I'll still try to help if I can. I'm not going to pretend like I've never pirated a game before. I think it's insulting when you play that sort of game.

 

[Flying Scotsman]

A lot of discussion about the legality and piracy etc. but I think Gary and his mates should definitely be worried about "conspiracy to commit money laundering", "conspiracy to commit wire fraud" and "wire fraud". This has less to do with big N but with the US Government.

Those are generally used as boilerplate indictments when money is involved with criminal behaviour.

For example paid hack devs have been sued by publishers with the same indictments.

 

[Deleted User]

Goodbye forever... dumbass hackerman...

Actually though it is sad to see this happen. It's the end of an era, and there's no changing that. Dammit, of all things to get super sentimental about. These motherfuckers. These guys. ... It's probably just the music. Yeah, it's the music.

 

[smf]

because the US Govt doesn't like money laundering / wire fraud-- dont try and screw around on the US Govt soil--

money laundering and wire fraud are just standard practices for illegal business, the us government doesn't inherently dislike it.

When they talk about wire fraud they usually mean sending money that happens to have been obtained through illegal means, not that you are doing anything specifically fraudulent with sending the money (which the law was probably intended for).

Laundering is just hiding the source of illegally obtained money, you are probably still paying taxes on it.

It's mostly theatrics for the court.

Offering a subscription for pirated games was probably their biggest mistake. They may have been able to make a fair use argument without that, if nintendo can prove the facts then there the case is a slam dunk.

I can't really say whether Nintendo will go after gbatemp or any of the people who post here, but any consequences will be up to individuals to deal with.

 

[alepman90]

I can't really say whether Nintendo will go after gbatemp or any of the people who post here, but any consequences will be up to individuals to deal with.

They would If they could and no doubt their employees already here everyday tracking accounts, and that’s why governments shouldn’t allow mega corps bully their own citizens, it’s disappointing how France and Canada let that happened.

 

[godreborn]

money laundering and wire fraud are just standard practices for illegal business, the us government doesn't inherently dislike it.

When they talk about wire fraud they usually mean sending money that happens to have been obtained through illegal means, not that you are doing anything specifically fraudulent with sending the money (which the law was probably intended for).

Laundering is just hiding the source of illegally obtained money, you are probably still paying taxes on it.

It's mostly theatrics for the court.

Offering a subscription for pirated games was probably their biggest mistake. They may have been able to make a fair use argument without that, if nintendo can prove the facts then there the case is a slam dunk.

I can't really say whether Nintendo will go after gbatemp or any of the people who post here, but any consequences will be up to individuals to deal with.

they already have gone after people here: installers only though. a couple installers asked to have their accounts deleted after that happened.

 

[nidalnijmgames]

I understand that a company must protect it's interest, and that piracy can harm a game company like Nintendo (and any other). However, jailing these guys I think is an exagerated decision from USA Government and Nintendo against these guys.

They could like demand financial indemnity for damage done to Nintendo's Business, take down Xecuter website, and any other measure, but arresting them just for pirating, ruining these guys lives (and their familie's) it is very exaggerated and shows that Nintendo only cares about money and they are hypocrates, they condemn even emulators and roms, when this new Super Mario 3D All Stars is basically a Dolphin Emulator.

This also shows that USA is not a democracy, but a Tyranny ruled by Big Corporations whose only interest is suck our money.

As said here, there are many other crimes and problems in USA worth for worrying about.

Why Nintendo and USA Government don`t care in example, about many black americans being killed day by day in USA. There are many cases of black people (who were gamers) killed by police in USA, and until today the cops who killed them were not arrested.

I was realy upset by team Xecuter prison, I personally used to talk with Gary OPA on Max Console, this guy is amazing, he helped me on my project (the game I am developing), and even made a front page news on Max Console website about my game.

I hope you get out from prison very soon my friend!

 

[godreborn]

in all likelihood, they probably won't face jail time. they may not even have to pay that big a fine, but they'll probably have to agree never to release a means for hacking at least another nintendo system again. this is what happened to geohot with the ps3. this may be especially true now that only violent criminals are arrested and jailed due to a pandemic. afaik, crimes that do warrant actions (no pun intended) are being put on hold for later via a criminal warrant due to covid.

 

[nidalnijmgames]

in all likelihood, they probably won't face jail time. they may not even have to pay that big a fine, but they'll probably have to agree never to release a means for hacking at least another nintendo system again. this is what happened to geohot with the ps3. this may be especially true now that only violent criminals are arrested and jailed due to a pandemic. afaik, crimes that do warrant actions (no pun intended) are being put on hold for later via a criminal warrant due to covid.

So that`s fine, I personally was very upset by this news. I hope the best for these guys. I think prison is one of the worst things a person can face. I know there are people who deserve to be arrested (and even more than this). However, I personally don`t think that piracy is worth of arresting.

 

[godreborn]

you never know with the American legal system. there was something on the Fall ballot here in Oklahoma about not issuing very harsh punishment for non violent crimes. I think some woman was sentenced to 20 years for shoplifting in the commercial, but I don't know much about it. being American myself and having traveled outside the country, I can tell you that America is no where near the greatest country in the world. it may be great if you're rich, but that's about it.

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btw, I got a kidney stone while living in Japan, but Japan has universal healthcare, so a trip to the hospital was about $80. my dad's stay in the hospital (3 days) in Oklahoma, was almost $100,000.

 

[nidalnijmgames]

you never know with the American legal system. there was something on the Fall ballot here in Oklahoma about not issuing very harsh punishment for non violent crimes. I think some woman was sentenced to 20 years for shoplifting in the commercial, but I don't know much about it. being American myself and having traveled outside the country, I can tell you that America is no where near the greatest country in the world. it may be great if you're rich, but that's about it.

Yes my friend, unfortunately, nowadays, any country, any place on earth is wonderful if you are rich and have a very generous pocket. I think rich people anywhere don`t suffer hardships like poor people.

That`s the real face of mankind, unfortunatelly!

 

[eyeliner]

btw, I got a kidney stone while living in Japan, but Japan has universal healthcare, so a trip to the hospital was about $80. my dad's stay in the hospital (3 days) in Oklahoma, was almost $100,000.

Holy guacamole!
In my country, I believe it would be even less than 80$, but not sure.
That's highway robbery, my friend. 100000 for healthcare shouldn't be enforced anywhere for anyone.

 

[godreborn]

the prices are high due to malpractice lawsuits I believe. the insurance for a doctor must be over a hundred thousand a year because of that. apparently, hospitals will take what you can give them, because there's no way my mom (the only person working) could afford that. I think we paid less than ten grand. one of the biggest problems with America is that I believe the highest tax bracket is $200,000 a year when there are people easily making over 5 million a year+.

 

[Deleted User]

Using Gary's company called Oasis Pensive Abacutors to launder the money so they become "legal". Aka they look legit on paper.

you just reminded me of something, i had a fight in the comments secotion in Maxconsole during the days of game cube and wii, there was no MaxConsole underground Back then, but the Forums section Discussions over there was full with links to mods and hacks and each time i asked a Legit question the site mods replied with: we don't Talk about piracy here, we don't support Piracy here, Blah Blah Blah, few years later, site transform into full Piracy News, complete with links in its news section, Complete Hypocrisy, i was always Puzzled by their behavior

R.I.P Maxconsole