US videogame retailer jailed for piracy!

[Zim Hosein]

A Maryland-based retailer who sold illegally modified Xbox consoles pre-loaded with pirate games has been sentenced to 5 months in prison and fined almost USD 250,000.

Biren Amin, owner of Pandora's Cube, will also serve five months home confinement, 80 hours of community service and will be subject to three years of supervised release once he is released from prison.

ESA president Douglas referred to the severity of the sentencing as "a clarion warning for others contemplating computer and video game piracy. In an ESA statement, Lowenstein, who is currently embroiled in a battle to overturn the controversial violent videogames bill in several US states, added, "Sentences of this magnitude send a clear message to game retailers that selling pirate products has serious consequences, including prosecution to the fullest extent of the law.

Amin, who sold 'Super Xboxes' which contained a chip to bypass copyright and security measures and a larger hard drive pre-installed with pirated videogames, is the fourth person associated with Pandora's Cube to be convicted and sentenced for videogame piracy.

Store manager Hitesh Patel was sentenced to four months in prison, four months house arrest, and two years of probation last month. In addition, senior retail manager Herbie Walker was sentenced to 100 hours of community service, sixth months of house arrest and two years of probation. Another store manager, Mguresh Amin, was sentenced to 150 hours of community service, six months house arrest and two years of probation.

US videogame retailer jailed for piracy :Q

 

[Kilgor]

He broke the law and got caught. Don't do the crime if you can't do the time.

 

[CHfan4ever]

Woaaaa!!!!

Prison for piracy!!!

 

[Rock Hydra]

It figures. Whoever has more $$, has more influence.

 

[preslove]

What kind of moron sells modded xbox's in their retail stores??? ATFS/ebay/craigslist are one thing, but from a store front?

 

[FleshLight]

Originally posted by: preslove
What kind of moron sells modded xbox's in their retail stores??? ATFS/ebay/craigslist are one thing, but from a store front?

The question is actually what kind of moron sells an xbox preloaded with pirated software.

There are many online places that sell modded xboxes but require you to flash your own bios/dash (the illegal part).

 

[jpeyton]

I think what was stupid was that this guy did it out of a legit business from a B&M location.

People do this stuff all the time online through CL, etc. because it's a bit more anonymous.

 

[Gooberlx2]

Originally posted by: Zim Hosein

A Maryland-based retailer who sold illegally modified Xbox consoles pre-loaded with pirate games has been sentenced to 5 months in prison and fined almost USD 250,000.

Biren Amin, owner of Pandora's Cube, will also serve five months home confinement, 80 hours of community service and will be subject to three years of supervised release once he is released from prison.

ESA president Douglas referred to the severity of the sentencing as "a clarion warning for others contemplating computer and video game piracy. In an ESA statement, Lowenstein, who is currently embroiled in a battle to overturn the controversial violent videogames bill in several US states, added, "Sentences of this magnitude send a clear message to game retailers that selling pirate products has serious consequences, including prosecution to the fullest extent of the law.

Amin, who sold 'Super Xboxes' which contained a chip to bypass copyright and security measures and a larger hard drive pre-installed with pirated videogames, is the fourth person associated with Pandora's Cube to be convicted and sentenced for videogame piracy.

Store manager Hitesh Patel was sentenced to four months in prison, four months house arrest, and two years of probation last month. In addition, senior retail manager Herbie Walker was sentenced to 100 hours of community service, sixth months of house arrest and two years of probation. Another store manager, Mguresh Amin, was sentenced to 150 hours of community service, six months house arrest and two years of probation.

US videogame retailer jailed for piracy :Q

Heh, friend of mine got an xbox, so I bought him a modchip as a wedding present (he asked for it). So he went to the local gamestop and ask for a guy he'd heard about to hook him up.

Next thing and $150 later he's got every atari, nes, snes, gensis, dreamcast, n64, arcade and xbox game in existance loaded up...in addition to who knows how much pr0n. Plus loads of mp3s, movies, etc...

It doesn't surprise me one bit. That sh!t runs rampant amongst all the mall gaming stores and the like...and developers wanna crack down within reason.

 

[AbAbber2k]

:thumbsup: for Xbox mods.

Wouldn't do it myself though. I have no need to pirate Xbox games (half of em are crap anyway)... and as far as emulators go... well I've got SNES, Gen, NES, MAME and PSX on my old 900mhz Athlon and they all run great. Course, playing on a big TV in your favorite chair is a bonus.