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Gary Bowser owes Nintendo an additional $10 million. Bowser, a well-known software hacker, was one of the members of the hacking group Team-Xecuter. They ran a number of illegal ROM websites and produced hardware for playing ROMs on the Nintendo Switch. Bowser originally lost a lawsuit brought by Nintendo and was ordered to pay $4.5 million.
The new fine is the result of a separate civil case between Bowser and Nintendo. In addition to the new fine, the court ordered Bowser to turn over all relevant web domains and hardware.
Bowser and Team-Xecuter originally faced 11 felony counts, which included conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering. Part of Bowser’s original plea deal dropped all the charges except for Trafficking in Circumvention Devices and Conspiracy to Circumvent Technological Measures and to Traffic in Circumvention Devices.
Bowser admitted to working with Team-Xecuter from 2013 to 2020. He was the head of their website which marketed the hacking tools. He also ran a website which contained a ROM library of over 13,000 games. Team-Xecuter also produced and sold devices for the 3DS and the NES Classic, as well as Playstation and Xbox consoles. Bowser was also prohibited from engaging in any other violations of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, federal law, or state law, with regards to Nintendo.
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Hopefully this marks the end of Bowsers employing underhanded and illegal money making schemes.
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