Two brothers were sentenced Friday to multiyear prison terms for selling what
the U.S. Department of Justice called "massive" amounts of pirated
software online, the DOJ announced.
Maurice A. Robberson, 48, was sentenced to three years in prison and ordered
to pay US$855,917 restitution, while his brother Thomas K. Robberson, 55, was
sentenced to 30 months in prison and ordered to pay $151,488 restitution, in
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
On Nov. 7, Maurice Robberson pled guilty to conspiracy and felony copyright
infringement, while Thomas Robberson pled guilty to a single count of felony
copyright infringement.
Thomas Robberson made more than $150,000 selling software with a retail value
of nearly $1 million through Bestvalueshoppe.com and TheDealDepot.net, the DOJ
said. Maurice Robberson grossed more than $855,000 selling software with a retail
value of nearly $5.6 million through CDsalesUSA.com and AmericanSoftwareSales.com.
Both men have agreed to forfeit all their proceeds from the businesses, the
DOJ said.
"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,"
Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher said in a statement.
Two other people who conspired with Maurice Robberson to commit copyright infringement
have already been sentenced, the DOJ said. Danny Ferrer, 39, was sentenced to
72 months in prison Aug. 25, 2006, for selling more than $4 million in pirated
software with a retail value of nearly $20 million on BuysUSA.com. Alton Lee
Grooms, 56, who helped start some of the businesses and gained more than $150,000
in profit, was sentenced on Jan. 18, to one year and one day in prison, after
he cooperated with the government's investigation.
From late 2002 to October 2005, the men sold counterfeit software from companies
such as Adobe Systems, Autodesk and Macromedia at discount prices, the DOJ said.
These counterfeit items were manufactured by their businesses and included labels
that featured trademarks and service marks of the legitimate software companies.
After receiving complaints from software copyright holders about BuysUSA.com,
an undercover U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation agent made a number of purchases
of business and utility software. Law enforcement authorities found a network
of sites selling pirated software, the DOJ said.
