Two members of Team Xecuter – one of the world’s most “notorious videogame piracy groups” – have been arrested. This is the same enterprise infamously known for exploiting vulnerabilities in Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft video game hardware.
The United States Department of Justice revealed Max Louarn – a 48-year-old French national, and Gary Bowser – a 51-year-old Canadian national, were caught in September and now face 11 felony counts each:
“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.”
Louarn and Bowser were “leaders” of Team Xecuter. The agency also charged Yuanning Chen, a 35-year-old from China.
Court documents describe Team Xecuter as a “criminal enterprise” comprised of over a dozen individual members worldwide. Members include developers who exploit vulnerabilities in video game consoles and design circumvention devices. There are also website designers who create pages to promote the devices, suppliers, and resellers that distribute them.
Just earlier this week, Nintendo won $2 million in a lawsuit against an online store that was selling Team Xecuter’s devices.
