Switch hack seller Gary Bowser sentenced to 40 months in prison
Last April, we reported on a lawsuit Nintendo of America filed a lawsuit against Gary Bowser, an apparent leader of hacking group Team Xecuter. The company felt that Bowser infringed on the company’s copyright in creating and selling hacks, and had been pursuing two trafficking counts and one copyright violation.
A final decision has now been reached. Bowser, who was arrested in 2020, has been sentenced to 40 months in prison, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has confirmed. This is on top of a $10 million fine he had previously agreed to pay for selling hacks.
Bowser was involved with the creation and selling devices used to hack video game consoles such as Switch. In doing so, users were able to circumvent console security measures and ultimately play games for free. According to Bowser himself, he was paid $1,000 a month to market and distribute the hacking devices to retailers. Additionally, he managed Team Xecuter’s websites and created “online libraries of pirated videogames for its customers.”
U.S. Attorney Nick Brown said today:
“This piracy scheme is estimated to have caused more than $65 million in losses to video game companies. But the damage goes beyond these businesses, harming video game developers and the small, creative studios whose products and hard work is essentially stolen when games are pirated.”
It’s worth noting that Max Louarn of France and Yuanning Chen of China, two other Team Xecuter members, have been charged by the DOJ. However, they are not currently in custody. Homeland Security Investigations and the FBI are still involved.
