Two men accused of operating a popular Android piracy website
have pleaded guilty to charges filed by the Department of Justice. This
marks the first time the DOJ has secured convictions for the
distribution of counterfeit mobile apps. Earlier today, Nicholas Anthony
Narbone entered a guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to commit
criminal copyright infringement. Thomas Allen Dye, who the DOJ refers to
as Narbone's "co-conspirator," pled guilty to the same charge earlier
this month.
Both helped
oversee Appbucket.net, an "alternative online market" that authorities
say illegally distributed more than 1 million copies of copyrighted
apps. Those illicit app downloads totaled more than $700,000 in value,
federal prosecutors say, and were given away without any consent from
developers.
Appbucket was one of two Android piracy sites seized by US law enforcement agencies
in 2012. The government has filed similar charges against 22-year-old
Kody Peterson, the suspected mastermind of SnappzMarket.com — another
site targeted by federal authorities. Peterson is accused of robbing
Android developers of even more money: prosecutors claim that between
May 2011 and August 2012, SnappzMarket facilitated 1 million illegal
downloads worth a total of $1.7 million. Since Peterson isn't mentioned
in today's DOJ press release, that case presumably remains ongoing. As
for Narbone, 26, and Dye, 21, they're due to be sentenced on July 8th
and June 12th, respectively. Each faces a maximum sentence of five years
in prison.
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