Software pirate gets six years

By Anne Broache
Staff Writer, CNET News

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Related Stories: Software pirate pleads guilty in Autodesk, Adobe case
June 29, 2006; Study: Software piracy costs $34 billion
May 23, 2006; Software piracy: Hype versus reality
August 2, 2004; Adobe targets piracy in Asia
June 29, 2004

A Florida man who pleaded guilty to copyright charges in connection with multimillion-dollar sales of pirated Autodesk, Adobe Systems and Macromedia software was sentenced Friday to six years in prison. Danny Ferrer, 37, of Lakeland, Fla., offered CD copies of the products, packaged with a serial number necessary for activation, the U.S. Department of Justice said Friday. He did this through a Web site called BuysUSA.com, from late 2002 until it was shut down by the FBI in October 2005.

As part of his sentence, which begins Sept. 30, Ferrer must pay more than $4.1 million in restitution to the software makers. He must also continue to sell all the assets he procured with his profits, which, according to the FBI, include a Lamborghini, a Hummer, two Corvettes, two Cessna planes, a helicopter, a motor boat and an ambulance.

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Add a Comment (Log in or register) 5 comments

An ambulance?

by thedreaming August 25, 2006 12:19 PM PDT

The other items I could understand, but why buy an ambulance?

Reply to this comment

Hey
by demner August 25, 2006 12:39 PM PDT: It's faster to get through traffic in an ambulance than a lamborghini.; View reply
Processing

I had the exact same thought
by brickfungus August 25, 2006 1:10 PM PDT: it just didn't fit with the rest of that list

What about Savings and Loan Crooks ???
by petekortum September 20, 2006 3:34 PM PDT: I don't recall any of those SOBs having to worry about restitution. Keating ended up with a few years in some Club Fed and he STOLE billions.; Reply to this comment

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