“A figure in the software pirating group DrinkOrDie has been sent to prison for nearly three years, the first of many members of the “warez” organization that will be sentenced for their roles in an operation that caused millions of dollars in damages.
In U.S. District Court Thursday, Barry Erickson, 35, of Eugene, Ore., was sentenced to 33 months in prison to be followed by two years of supervised release.
Under a plea agreement, Erickson, once a systems engineer with Internet security firm Symantec Corp., pleaded guilty to one felony count of conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement.
Erickson acted as a supplier for the loosely-knit, global operation, providing new Symantec software to be sold illegally on the Internet after its copyright-protection schemes were removed.
DrinkOrDie, which investigators say is among the oldest software piracy groups in existence, was at the center of a federal probe called “Operation Buccaneer” that led to the execution of 70 search warrants worldwide on Dec. 11. DrinkOrDie is the first warez group to release high-end software applications and utilities, government lawyers said.
Erickson is the eighth DrinkOrDie member to plead guilty in Virginia to charges related to the illegal online distribution of copyrighted software, games and movies. He is the first to be sentenced, and prosecutors expect additional arrests.”
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