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

 

[linuxares]

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

I mean, the always been involved in these things.

He was arrested in Toronto for DVD Piracy before, after that he left for the Dominican Republic. They always had the underground forum but you needed to look for it.

 

[0x3000027E]

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.

Hospital for a kidney stone? C'mon man, tough those out (I've had five). 80 bucks for what.....a pep talk!?

Even though you have 'travelled the world', let's both agree, your worldview is very, very small.

 

[Basketto]

I don’t use SX OS at all, but still am baffled by the people that are celebrating this as a good thing.

Yes, the mod chips were there undoing, but also the only means for current switch units to get hacked at all. Even odds of a switch pro getting hacked(if it comes, are probably severely reduced)
Their are multiple felony charges going against team xecuter, and if they are found guilty for particular ones, what people seem to forget is that they can easily use it as a grounds to tear down atmosphere, potentially destroying the switch homebrew scene. I mean this is worst case scenario. However, regardless of weather you loathe, love, are indifferent to team xecuter, I just can’t see how this is good for the switch homebrew scene. By all means GaryOPA is probably a scumbag, but I just don’t see how any good will come from this as a whole though.

 

[DinohScene]

Take your political drivel to the Politics section.
Thank you.

 

[realtimesave]

Take your political drivel to the Politics section.
Thank you.

:3

 

[smf]

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.

Geohotz never faced a criminal prosecution, so he couldn't face jail time. Once you're arrested by the FBI then things change quite quickly.

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.

They add conspiracy when there are two people planning to do something.
Wire fraud is used when you wire money that you obtained from crime.
Money laundering is when you pretend that money you obtained from crime is legitimate.

It's just things that you do when you commit crime, it is just for theatrics during the court case.

Money laundering is really only for people who commit no other crimes other than to launder the money, which I doubt they were doing. They were likely getting someone else to launder the money.

Wire fraud is really only for when you get people to send you money by wire and then don't deliver what you said you would. The distributors bought TX products and they were delivered AFAIK, the subscribers to the pirate games did too (I'd be worried if I had paid them any money for that...)

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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.

Nintendo don't have the power to arrest anyone, copyright infringement is a civil matter up to a point. As soon as it becomes a commercial enterprise that is only for the purposes for infringing copyright then it becomes a criminal matter.

They are within their rights to sell you an emulator that has licensed roms, you aren't allowed to download unlicensed roms for use in an emulator (or even for a flash cart). It's not hypocritical at all, you just don't like that they are protecting their commercial interest.

 

[sudeki300]

Geohotz never faced a criminal prosecution, so he couldn't face jail time. Once you're arrested by the FBI then things change quite quickly.



They add conspiracy when there are two people planning to do something.
Wire fraud is used when you wire money that you obtained from crime.
Money laundering is when you pretend that money you obtained from crime is legitimate.

It's just things that you do when you commit crime, it is just for theatrics during the court case.

Money laundering is really only for people who commit no other crimes other than to launder the money, which I doubt they were doing. They were likely getting someone else to launder the money.

Wire fraud is really only for when you get people to send you money by wire and then don't deliver what you said you would. The distributors bought TX products and they were delivered AFAIK, the subscribers to the pirate games did too (I'd be worried if I had paid them any money for that...)

this could come under the RICO act in the US, this is how they got alot of the NYC familes, looks like maxconsole has been taken down / blocked also.

 

[ChronoTrig]

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.

And also, if you have someone gunning for you (Nintendo for TX), then even if an illegal business has the standard practice of wire fraud / money laundering, then of course it's going to be something to go after and get you for. The US Govt doesn't like it which is why they're going after it, because TX made themselves a target on US soil so it's something they can use to pin them.

Money laundering is really only for people who commit no other crimes other than to launder the money, which I doubt they were doing. They were likely getting someone else to launder the money.

Wire fraud is really only for when you get people to send you money by wire and then don't deliver what you said you would. The distributors bought TX products and they were delivered AFAIK, the subscribers to the pirate games did too (I'd be worried if I had paid them any money for that...)

And as linuxares said: Using Gary's company called Oasis Pensive Abacutors to launder the money so they become "legal". Aka they look legit on paper. - so there's your laundering money by Gary himself.

It may be theatrics for the court, but that's the way it actually got a judges ears to actually chirp for an indictment / arrest. As many have said before, judges/lawyers don't understand / nor care about piracy with games. You talk breaking the law in a way they understand then they'll actually jump. If it didn't have all that added then it would be just a suit and a judge wouldn't care.

I'm hoping the modders on here who deleted their account (modderfokker619) and any of the other modders are fine. Squee still posts, so I'm guessing it was just a C&D, but modder killed his account.

 

[phalk]

I wonder where all that iconic and proud aggressiveness that @blawar had has gone. Haven't seen much of it lately.

 

[Flying Scotsman]

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.

That's health insurance for you. The hospital assumes the insurance company will pay for it so can set the prices sky high.That's why you occasionally see $2k for 2 paracetamol tablets.

Sad thing is even if someone pulled together a system like the UK's NHS or some other form of nationwide health care paid for by taxpayers (to go alongside private healthcare) - it'd still probably be shot down because health insurance is so ingrained at this point they'd claim it was "unfair" for those paying for it etc.

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I wonder where all that iconic and proud aggressiveness that @blawar had has gone. Haven't seen much of it lately.

Well if your employers were suddenly lifted you'd be keeping a low profile too.

 

[64bitmodels]

I still don't understand why people have this misconception. You don't own the device, you just paid for a license to use it. It's no different than buying a product key for a piece of software.

i pay 300 dollars for a video game console i own that video game console
no one else does this "uhh you dont technically own this" BS only nintendo does it
this is why we hack switches, to give them the middle finger

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Don't you know?! As long as the system isn't current, emulation of it doesn't count as piracy, because reasons. /s

...thats literally how it works you moron
Sony isnt providing any good way to play psp games, its not current, only people who can play them are people with psps.
thats like saying that pirating atari 2600 games is illegal

 

[MikaDubbz]

...thats literally how it works you moron
Sony isnt providing any good way to play psp games, its not current, only people who can play them are people with psps.
thats like saying that pirating atari 2600 games is illegal

Wow, you were a dick and wrong at the same time. It doesn't work that way, we've just all decided it's fine because enough time has past that you can't buy the games anymore, but emulating PSP games is absolutely still piracy. Now, you might see some argue that after a game is 25 years or older, that you may be free to download those games and it's not piracy, and while you almost certainly aren't going to be arrested for it, my understanding is that even at that point, it is still piracy.

 

[64bitmodels]

Wow, you were a dick and wrong at the same time. It doesn't work that way, we've just all decided it's fine because enough time has past that you can't buy the games anymore, but emulating PSP games is absolutely still piracy. Now, you might see some argue that after a game is 25 years or older, that you may be free to download those games and it's not piracy, and while you almost certainly aren't going to be arrested for it, my understanding is that even at that point, it is still piracy.

how the fuck am i supposed to play psp games legally then???

 

[MikaDubbz]

how the fuck am i supposed to play psp games legally then???

Literally, not my problem. You can pirate them all you want, I genuinely don't care. But it is piracy still all the same. And hey don't get me wrong, I partake in piracy myself with roms and emulators, but even when I do, I'm not lying to myself, I'm aware that what I'm doing is piracy, but it's such a victimless crime at that point, that I just think of it like jay-walking.

 

[smf]

The US Govt doesn't like it which is why they're going after it,

No, they add it to the list of charges to bump it up. It's not something the US government go after.

It would be like giving the getaway driver in a bank robbery a speeding ticket and then someone say that the us govt go after people who speed.

how the fuck am i supposed to play psp games legally then???

You could buy second hand psp games and run them on a psp & if you can't then that isn't a legal defense, the copyright holder has a legal right to prevent you from copying it even if they refuse to sell you it. What you do is your own decision though. You won't face arrest for downloading, you might never get caught or you might get some kind of fine at some point.

 

[Willgheminass]

There is no free option available for v2 or Lite users.

True. I didn't think about that.

 

[64bitmodels]

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

piracy is literally supposed to be getting video games and digital software for free, if you have to pay for a product in order to pirate at that point you might as well just buy the games from the eshop/digital store front
its either free or it aint piracy

 

[ChronoTrig]

No, they add it to the list of charges to bump it up. It's not something the US government go after.

It would be like giving the getaway driver in a bank robbery a speeding ticket and then someone say that the us govt go after people who speed.

As I originally said, the judge wouldn't make a big deal out of it federally + the FBI unless the money laundering / wire fraud came into play. You have to take the FBI's role into this as serious and not just a simple suit because piracy. THAT is why the Gov't got involved due to money laundering + wire fraud... or again, it'd be just a waving hands simple suit from Nintendo and no US Govt involved.
The US Govt wouldn't get involved unless federally they were able to charge with many federal charges so that things stick. This is US law.

 

[MikaDubbz]

piracy is literally supposed to be getting video games and digital software for free, if you have to pay for a product in order to pirate at that point you might as well just buy the games from the eshop/digital store front
its either free or it aint piracy

Just because you use a tool to play your pirated game, doesn't mean the game isn't pirated all the same. Be it a modchip or a flashcard, these are means to unlock your device into being able to play copies of games that you didn't pay for.

 

[altorn]

so has blawar gone into hiding? any updates about him?