Hawaiian Video Game Pirate Sent To Prison For Copyright Infringement

Washington, DC – The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) today applauded the prison sentence that the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii imposed on defendant Don Perreira for his game piracy activities.

Defendant Perreira, who admitted to possessing and distributing modified Microsoft Xbox video game consoles that had been loaded with illegal copies of copyrighted video games, was sentenced by Judge Susan Oki Mollway to four months in jail and four months of home detention, followed by three years of supervised release.

Perreira, 27, of Pearl City, Hawaii , pled guilty on August 16, 2006, to two counts of criminal copyright infringement. Perreira “fronted” the modified game consoles loaded with games to his co-defendant John Oroyan, 40, of Waialua, who sold them for profit. Oroyan pleaded guilty last year to one count of copyright infringement and was sentenced on July 31, 2006, to five years of probation, three months of home detention, and 300 hours of community service.

“We commend the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Hawaii and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Cyber Crime Squad in Hawaii for bringing these defendants to justice,” said Ric Hirsch, senior vice president of Intellectual Property Enforcement at the ESA, which represents computer and video game publishers. “These sentences send a clear message to game software pirates that intellectual property theft is a serious crime and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

The ESA is the association dedicated to serving the business and public affairs needs of the companies publishing interactive games for video game consoles, handheld devices, personal computers, and the Internet. ESA members collectively account for more than 90 percent of the $7 billion in entertainment software sales in the in 2006, and billions more in export sales of entertainment software. For more information about the ESA, please visit www.theESA.com.