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 Posted: Sat, 3rd Oct 2020 00:44 Post subject: [OTHER] Team Xecuter team members arrested |
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| Quote: | Two members of a console hacking and piracy organization known as Team Xecuter have been arrested and charged with fraud, one of whom is named Gary Bowser. French national Max Louarn and Bowser, originally from Canada but arrested in the Dominican Republic, allegedly led the group, which makes a line of tools for cracking locked-down gaming hardware.
Team Xecuter is a sophisticated operation known best for its Nintendo hacks, including a USB device called the SX Pro that allows the Nintendo Switch to run pirated games. The group’s for-profit motive has made it controversial in the modding and emulation communities, reports Ars Technica, because those communities tend to focus on open-source efforts and shy away from selling products that could draw the attention of both console makers and federal authorities. Team Xecuter also makes hacking tools for the Nintendo 3DS and the NES Classic, among other devices.
Nintendo is well aware of the group, having filed two lawsuits against the organization back in May, with the primary intention of shutting down third-party retailers that resell Team Xecuter’s products online. Nintendo also has a controversial history of its own involving aggressive litigation over unauthorized use of its intellectual property. In more recent years, Nintendo has gone after so-called ROM sites that host ripped game files and other sites and web stores that traffic in pirated content and related hardware tools.
The Justice Department has gone further. “These defendants were allegedly leaders of a notorious international criminal group that reaped illegal profits for years by pirating video game technology of U.S. companies,” Brian C. Rabbitt, the acting assistant attorney general of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, said in a statement. “These arrests show that the department will hold accountable hackers who seek to commandeer and exploit the intellectual property of American companies for financial gain, no matter where they may be located.”
The Justice Department tries to emphasize the difference between Xecuter’s activities and not-for-profit emulation or console hacking. The release says Xecuter “attempted to protect its overall business by using a wide variety of brands, websites, and distribution channels, according to the indictment,” and that the group “cloaked its illegal activity with a purported desire to support gaming enthusiasts who wanted to design their own videogames for noncommercial use.” But the primary purpose of the group’s activities was to develop and sell for-profit tools for running pirated games, and additionally to help “create and support online libraries of pirated videogames.”
Both men face severe prison time if convicted, including 20 years for each charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering, with up to five years for some of the lesser charges. No trial date has been set. |
https://www.theverge.com/2020/10/2/21499297/team-xecuter-selling-nintendo-hacks-arrested-charged-fraud
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| Posted: Sat, 3rd Oct 2020 00:47 Post subject: |
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ow that's a blow for the console modding scene... I am sure the French guy will be able to escape in French court
their original xbox modchips were great, as well their 360 glitch boards
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Przepraszam
VIP Member
Posts: 14474
Location: Poland. New York.
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| Posted: Sat, 3rd Oct 2020 01:29 Post subject: |
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That's a shame.
SX for Switch/Lite is amazing.
Nintendo can get FUCKED.
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| Posted: Sat, 3rd Oct 2020 01:48 Post subject: |
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Last edited by Interinactive on Mon, 4th Oct 2021 08:47; edited 4 times in total
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LeoNatan
☢ NFOHump Despot ☢
Posts: 73194
Location: Ramat Gan, Israel 🇮🇱
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| Posted: Sat, 3rd Oct 2020 01:53 Post subject: |
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| Interinactive wrote: | | I still bought every game I ever liked/played, but yeah. Without an eShop refund policy for shitty/broken/unoptimised games (of which there are thousands off) and the ridiculous regional pricing, they can get fucked. I would have bought even less if I couldn't have tested games first. |
I refunded Mortal Kombat 11 through PayPal. They introduced a patch that broke the game, didn’t fix it for at least two weeks, so I opened a dispute and got the money. |
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WaldoJ
VIP Member
Posts: 32678
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| Posted: Sat, 3rd Oct 2020 04:24 Post subject: |
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Murican court.
Same courts that stopped apple from getting hackers and courts said peeps are allowed to modify their equipment once they buy it. So... unless they were doing other shady shit - modding wont fuck them.
Lawsuit can happen. But arrest and charges won't stick if they have a good lawyer. Also for lawsuit they would need prove it cost them a loss. Which is lol cause once switches proved hackable sales went up. Once a jailbreak is possible early ish enough in system life - sales always go up. Software sales as well.
And is that bowser guy in anyway related to the noa chief? Cause that will be lol. Since the meme, "my uncle works at Nintendo - i know stuffs"
| Sin317 wrote: | | I win, you lose. Or Go fuck yourself. |
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| Posted: Sat, 3rd Oct 2020 11:02 Post subject: |
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| WaldoJ wrote: | Murican court.
Same courts that stopped apple from getting hackers and courts said peeps are allowed to modify their equipment once they buy it. So... unless they were doing other shady shit - modding wont fuck them.
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but it seems they are in trouble for way more than just their team xecuter products. it seems they also sold non team xecuter branded devices preloaded with games. in case this is true, they will be fucked...
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| Posted: Sat, 3rd Oct 2020 12:10 Post subject: |
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| skx7 wrote: | | WaldoJ wrote: | Murican court.
Same courts that stopped apple from getting hackers and courts said peeps are allowed to modify their equipment once they buy it. So... unless they were doing other shady shit - modding wont fuck them.
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but it seems they are in trouble for way more than just their team xecuter products. it seems they also sold non team xecuter branded devices preloaded with games. in case this is true, they will be fucked... |
Yes, the fact they go on about wire fraud, money laundering in the documents - they could get 10, 20 years easy just for that in the US
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| Posted: Sat, 3rd Oct 2020 12:30 Post subject: |
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If only these idiots stuck with selling their console mods... but i guess the greedy always gets greedier. An universal rule. Absolute fucking idiots
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WaldoJ
VIP Member
Posts: 32678
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| Posted: Sat, 3rd Oct 2020 12:51 Post subject: |
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O they fucked lol
| Sin317 wrote: | | I win, you lose. Or Go fuck yourself. |
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| Posted: Sat, 3rd Oct 2020 14:11 Post subject: |
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Guess that means we will have to migrate to atmosphere before long
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WaldoJ
VIP Member
Posts: 32678
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| Posted: Sat, 3rd Oct 2020 14:28 Post subject: |
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If those were the ones releasing and patching shit then yes. Ams is the way to go. But they usually wait for sigs to be releasing before updating. So it could be just one lad patching and releasing updates. Time will tell. Website still up. Forums are up.
If tx releases a statement saying they dead. Then they dead.
| Sin317 wrote: | | I win, you lose. Or Go fuck yourself. |
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| Posted: Sat, 3rd Oct 2020 16:44 Post subject: |
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Last edited by Interinactive on Mon, 4th Oct 2021 08:47; edited 3 times in total
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| Posted: Sun, 4th Oct 2020 00:31 Post subject: |
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| Interinactive wrote: | | https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdwa/pr/two-members-notorious-videogame-piracy-group-team-xecuter-custody |
Salient, and scary, section from above:
"Each defendant is charged with 11 felony counts, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to circumvent technological measures and to traffic in circumvention devices, trafficking in circumvention devices, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering are each punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Conspiracy and trafficking in circumvention devices are each punishable by up to 5 years in prison."
They be fucked. 
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