Gary Bowser, 54, owes Nintendo $14.5 million in civil and criminal penalties when he pled guilty to his role in assisting Team Zecutor in developing gaming console accessories that enabled piracy. I realized that it was probably impossible to repay the debt.in New interview with the GuardianHowever, Bowser said he began paying these hefty $25 monthly fines even though he was serving a related prison sentence.
Bowser was released last year after completing 14 months of a 40-month sentence (in addition to 16 months in pretrial detention) that was spread across several different prisons. Bowser told the Guardian that for part of his stay, he was paid $1 an hour for four-hour shifts counseling other prisoners on suicide watch.
From that money, Bowser said he was “paying Nintendo $25 a month” while in prison.That’s pretty much in line with the argument made by Bowser. on Nick Moses’ podcast Last year, he said he had already paid Nintendo $175 while in custody.
According to the Guardian, Nintendo will likely continue to collect between 20 and 30 percent of Bowser’s gross income (after paying “necessities such as rent”) for the rest of his life.
Autumn man?
Although those involved in copyright infringement often face fines rather than jail time, Nintendo’s lawyers say it “sends a message that there are consequences for participating in a sustained effort to undermine the video game industry.” ”, he said frankly that he asked for a prison sentence for Bowser. The ruling was effective, at least as far as Bowser was concerned, but he told the Guardian: [are] He’s still there, if he gets caught… [they’ll] Please work hard. ”
However, Bowser also claims that he was not directly involved in the coding or manufacturing of Team Xecuter products, and only worked on incidental details such as product testing, promotion, and website coding. . Aurora, a writer for the hacking news site, told Ars in 2020. Wororo, described Bowser as “kind of a publicist” for Team Zecutor. Nevertheless, Bowser said taking a plea deal on just two charges saved him the time and expense of fighting all 14 charges against him in court.
Bowser was arrested in the Dominican Republic in 2020. Max “MAXiMiLiEN” Rowan, a member of Team Zecutor and a French national, was indicted He was then detained in Tanzania at the same time as Bowser’s arrest. Still living in France as of mid-2022 And he has not yet been extradited to the United States. Chen Yuanning, a Chinese national who was also charged, remains at large.
“If Mr. Rouen comes before me for sentencing, it is very likely that he will serve a double-digit sentence for his role and involvement, and the same is true for the others.” [Chen]” U.S. District Judge Robert Laznik Speaking at Bowser’s sentencing.
Rehabilitation
While in prison, Bowser told the Guardian he contracted COVID-19 for two weeks and it was so severe that “a priest came to read prayers to me once a day.” An attack of elephantiasis also left him unable to wear shoes on his left foot, requiring him to use a wheelchair.
Now a free man, Bowser said he is relying on friends and a GoFundMe page to pay for rent and necessities while he looks for work. That investigation may be hampered somewhat by his criminal history and the terms of his plea agreement, which prohibits him from working with modern gaming hardware.
Despite this, Bowser told the Guardian that his current situation is still better than the homelessness he experienced in his 20s. And while Bowser may not be able to hack consoles, he reportedly still “tinkers with old-fashioned Texas Instruments calculators” to kill time.