Andre Yoskowitz
8 Mar 2008 16:58
Yesterday, two brothers accused of software piracy were sentenced to multi-year prison sentences, said the US Department of Justice.
Maurice Robberson and his brother Thomas Robberson were sentenced to 36 and 30 month sentences respectively and ordered to pay $1 million USD in restitution. In November both men plead guilty to felony copyright infringement.
Both men sold counterfeit software through their websites Bestvalueshoppe.com, TheDealDepot.net, CDsalesUSA.com, and AmericanSoftwareSales.com. Both men agreed to pay back all revenue made by the sites which equaled the $1 million USD restitution.
"People who steal the intellectual property of others for their personal financial gain, while defrauding consumers who think they are buying legitimate products, will be punished for their crimes, as today's sentences prove," said Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher.
Both men received complaints from software copyright holders but denied wrong doing. Undercover FBI agents then purchased items from one of their sites and found a network of other sites selling pirated software.