Two Chinese Men Charged w/ Online Distribution of Pirated Software in U.S., Overseas
Two Chinese nationals were charged in a 46-count superseding indictment for a variety of charges including software piracy and illegally exporting technology to China, reports Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. The indictment charges that between April 2008 and June 2011, Xiang Li distributed over 500 pirated copyrighted works to at least 325 purchasers located in Delaware, at least 27 other states and over 60 foreign countries. More than one-third of the purchases were made by individuals within the U.S.
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The charges arise out of the defendants' operation of a website called Crack 99 that sold pirated copies of software in which the access control mechanisms had been "cracked" or circumvented. An international investigation was initiated by ICE after discovering the Crack 99 website, which advertised the sale of pirated software. Xiang Li, 35, and Chun Yan Li, 33, of Chengdu, China, have been charged by a federal grand jury. Xiang Li was arrested by ICE special agents June 7, 2011, in Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands. Chun Yan Li remains an at-large fugitive in Chengdu.
During the course of the conspiracy, more than 150 manufactures lost retail value of the pirated software in excess of $100 million, ICE said.