Internet piracy pair facing jail

[-nick-]

Internet piracy pair facing jail

 

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Two men who were part of a huge network of internet software pirates, known as Drink Or Die, will be sentenced on Friday for conspiracy to defraud.

 

Alex Bell, 32, of Grays, Essex, and Steven Dowd, 42, of Newton-le-Willows, Merseyside, were among 60 members of the group arrested.

 

The pair, convicted in March, denied downloading software for profit after being arrested in a US-led operation.

 

DOD members did not make any profit but police denied they were "Robin Hoods".

 

'Ground-breaking'

 

Bell and Dowd were among eight Britons arrested by the National Hi-Tech Crime Unit in December 2001.

 

Ex-Staffordshire school IT worker Andrew Eardley, 35, from Deal, Kent, and IT manager Mark Vent, 31, of Grays, Essex, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud, last year.

 

Pirates with no profit motive

 

Bruce Houlder QC, prosecuting, told the Old Bailey on Thursday: "This is a ground-breaking prosecution.

 

"It is the first prosecution for software piracy on this scale conducted in this country."

 

He said it involved "cracking" the protection on software and games to enable them to be copied and downloaded.

 

International companies such as Microsoft, along with smaller firms, stood to lose millions as a result of the scam, he said.

 

"They may see themselves as latter-day Robin Hoods, stealing from the rich to give to the poor, but in reality it is a cover for fraud," Mr Houlder said.

 

"Computers are their universe. They live and breathe a world of computer software."

 

 

 

"They may see themselves as latter-day Robin Hoods, stealing from the rich to give to the poor, but in reality it is a cover for fraud," Mr Houlder said.

 

pos prokeitai gia "apati" afou den bgazoun tpt apo auta[mallon xalane xrhmata ]

[WizeMan]

Από την μια μπορείς να πεις ότι σίγουρα κάπως χρηματοδοτούνται, είτε νόμιμα είτε παράνομα, και από την άλλη ίσως είναι μια σκευωρία για να καταδικαστούν...

[-nick-]

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