busted

[rainbowdemon]

A South Carolina man was charged by a federal grand jury with selling more than $1.4 million worth of counterfeit copyrighted computer software through technology businesses operating in western Pennsylvania and elsewhere.

The Beaver Couny Times

[rainbowdemon]

I think that's kind of a severe penaslty for the crime.

[slum_goddess]

Kononchuk faces up to 25 years in prison and $2.75 million in fines if convicted.

holy shit...but LOL at 'dimitri smith'

[Malicious Intent]

What does a charge by the grand jury mean? Don't the police make the charge and the jury the verdict?

[Redneck4sure]

The police investigate and make an arrest. The evidence is given to the prosecutor's office. If the prosecutor decides to pursue the case it is then presented to a grand jury. The grand jury decides if there is enough evidence to warrant a trial. If indicted (charged) by the grand jury the case then goes to trial. Most of the cases that are sent to a grand jury and recommended by the prosecutor to be tried are approved for trial. Sometimes the cases are sent to a grand jury with what the prosecutor feels is insufficient evidence. The prosecutor will refer the case to the grand jury and make no recommendation and the grand jury decides if the person is to be tried.

[Malicious Intent]

Thanks Redneck. So a jury has not convicted him? This is just a theoritical maximum? He may yet be fined $100 and given a suspended sentence?

[Ken]

The fine is reasonable, the jail time is way too high.

[Redneck4sure]

true.

He may even be found not guilty.

edit: I was reply to MI but Ken got in-between.

I agree with Ken too.

Edited March 20, 2005 by Redneck4sure

[KiwiCoromandel]

ouch.......that would be a harsh sentence..no doubt about it......also, you can`t be sure that the dollar value of the pirated (so - called) software is what they say it is... there are people down here who have been busted for large amounts of pot of which the prosecution has given an apparently inflated street value...they have had their cases thrown out on the grounds that those dollar totals were bullshit......and were simply based on an AVERAGEof what the prosecution THOUGHT that they were worth...bloody shocking..... :(

[Redneck4sure]

Same thing here, Kiwi. They will bust someone for a large amount of drugs and tell the quantity. Later in the story they will state the value. I have done the math on several occasions and their numbers are off the scale. It is a shame when you can't believe anything the prosecution says. They lose all credibility when they say shit like that.

[KiwiCoromandel]

just checked that beaver county source again red and it seems that microsoft may well be the ones who have helped the prosecution come up with the dollar value that has been attached to this unfortunate gentleman`s software " pirating " activities.......if he stole X amount of illegal copies of Microsoft Office 2000 Professional Edition and knowingly cracked or reproduced copies of the setup cd`s then , fair enough...he took the risk and he came undone.....he obviously sold the goodies for a greatly reduced price..compared to what that software is worth on the retail or even wholesale market......the dollar total should be for the amount or value that he put on them and/or received for those goods...what that was worth to him...not what it is worth to microsoft in a theoretical market situation....

http://www.softwareoutlet.com/static/msoffice_landing.html

[Redneck4sure]

kinda like the $150,000 per song thingie.

[KiwiCoromandel]

kinda like the $150,000 per song thingie.

exactly like that....... :bigsmile: