"The scope of this case is unprecedented," said US Attorney
Debra Yang on Thursday. "In one indictment, we have charged both
the manufacturers who supplied the counterfeit items and the
distributors who flooded the market with the bogus goods," she
explained. "Rest assured that we will be looking at all who are
involved in this underground black market."
The indictment alleges that four individuals from California
produced bulk quantities of Symantec, Adobe and Microsoft software
and documentation, which were then delivered to five other
defendants who operated a counterfeit software distribution
enterprise from Washington State and Texas. An eleventh defendant,
also from California, is alleged to have processed the payments for
the counterfeit products in Los Angeles.
As well as the 11 arrests, Operation Digital Marauder led to the
seizure of over $56 million of counterfeit software, an industrial
CD replicator and sophisticated printing equipment, according to
the Department of Justice.
"Today's indictment marks an important milestone in our mission
to curb intellectual property theft," said Attorney General John
Ashcroft. "The theft of intellectual property is a multi-billion
dollar fraud that not only steals money from the creators of such
ideas, but it also victimises the American consumer. When industry
is forced to increase prices in order to recoup the money lost due
to theft, we all pay those costs."
The defendants were due to be arraigned yesterday and if
convicted face prison sentences of between 15 and 75 years.
