Gary Bowser receives further penalties
In a lawsuit that refuses to reach terminus, Team Xecuter associate Gary Bowser has agreed to pay an additional $10 million USD to publisher Nintendo for their part in the creation and sales of various hardware and software hacking tools.
Bowser, who was arrested in the Dominican Republic in September 2020 following an FBI investigation, faced felony charges for the distribution of “jailbreak” devices such as the SX Core and SX Lite, which allow for the use of bootleg ROMs and game cartridges. Though Bowser had previously responded to all charges — including Conspiracy to Circumvent Technological Measures and the Trafficking of Circumvention Devices — with a plea of Not Guilty, the Canadian national and his defense team opted to instead return a plea of Guilty on October 28 of this year.
While the plea of Guilty alleviated Bowser of various other felony charges, he was still expected to face a fine of around $4.5 million, as well as the possibility of 10 years in prison. However, in this latest turn of events, Nintendo has won a further $10 million from Bowser in a civil case entirely separate from the aforementioned federal lawsuit. This secondary case sees Bowser liable for additional fines and could potentially add further jail time to any potential prison sentence.
At the time of Bowser’s initial arrest, the FBI also picked up French national Max Louran on 11 felony charges related to Team Xecuter’s activities. Louran is currently in Canada, awaiting extradition for trial in the United States. A third Team Xecuter associate, Yuanning Chen from Shenzhen, China, is yet to be apprehended. As part of Bowser’s initial plea bargain, he is expected to help authorities locate other associates who worked within Team Xecuter’s distribution teams.
The Team Xecuter case is the most high-profile of numerous recent lawsuits which has seen Nintendo increase its efforts to crack down on the piracy of its products and seek “zero tolerance” punishment against the individuals responsible.
