The investigation against the international counterfeiting ring was initiated in 2013. At that time, US federal law enforcement officials operating in Kansas City discovered that one of the primary suspects in the ring had bought tens of thousands of illegal and counterfeited product keys for Microsoft products in China and then redistributed them in the US.
“An investigation that began in Kansas City uncovered one of the largest software piracy schemes ever prosecuted by the US Department of Justice,” said Tammy Dickinson, a district attorney in Missouri.
Most recently, a Chinese citizen confessed to having been involved in the illegal operation. The man, who was arrested in the summer of 2016 while attempting to return to China from the US, is said to have been in the possession of around 320,000 counterfeit software licenses for Microsoft products at the time of his arrest. He is already the eighth defendant who has pleaded guilty of fraud against Microsoft. The counterfeiting ring, which also includes American citizens, is said to have distributed counterfeit software products and fraudulent activation codes to dealers and customers in the US. Software producer Microsoft allegedly incurred financial losses of more than 100 million US dollars (about 85 million euros).
“Software piracy is a significant economic crime that victimizes not only software developers and manufacturers, but unwitting consumers,” Dickinson continued.
The Chinese counterfeiter is now facing a prison sentence of up to ten years for fraud and illicit trade in counterfeits; a date for the sentencing has not yet been set.
