Crackdown nets Spokane man
A federal crackdown on pirated computer software ensnared a Spokane man, who could face prison time and hefty fines for allegedly downloading such things as the movie “The Butterfly Effect,” and games such as The Hulk Xbox.
The FBI accuses Scott J. Walls, 45, of participating in a criminal copyright conspiracy from his home on West Glass Avenue. He was indicted along with seven other men around the country for their alleged roles in what is called the “warez scene,” a series of organized groups blamed for most of the illegal distribution of music, movies, games and software.
The charges against Walls and others were announced July 30 by the U.S. attorney’s office in Charlotte, N.C., who said those charged were leading members of a “warez” group, a term derived from the words software and warehouses.
Illegally obtained copies of software can be quickly and cheaply converted to optical discs, manufactured en masse in Asian countries with less stringent copyright enforcement, and then distributed, sometimes before the original material is released. Spammers advertise this cheap, illegal software, which can be downloaded from Web sites or shipped from overseas.
It’s estimated that such copyright infringement costs the entertainment industry billions of dollars in sales each year.
Walls’ case has been transferred to Spokane, where he is tentatively scheduled to plead guilty in November, if an agreement can be struck, said defense attorney Carl Oreskovich, who instructed his client not to comment on the case.
Far from a master cyber pirate, Oreskovich said, Walls didn’t have a full understanding of the scope of the “warez” group he allegedly joined.
“He harmlessly got involved in something that got bigger than anything he conceived of,” Oreskovich said. “He’s just a guy with a wife and kids who was fascinated by the Internet.”
The conspiracy charges carry penalties that could include prison time and hefty fines, depending on how much money the copyright violations cost the rightful owners of the content.
Department of Justice officials have waged an increasingly aggressive campaign against Internet piracy groups. Two FBI operations, called FastLink and Site Down, were large international operations designed to curb the theft of software.
Prosecutors handling the cases declined to comment, instead referencing press releases and charging documents.
Walls’ home was searched, one of 200 raids conducted in 15 counties. In those searches, government agents seized hundreds of computers and removed more than $100 million worth of illegally copied copyrighted materials.
Among those indicted, four face charges of copyright infringement and conspiracy to commit copyright infringement. They are David Lee Pruett, 34, of Auburn, Wash.; Alexander C. Von Eremeef, 30, of Belmont, Mass.; George C. Stoutenburgh, 48, of Bennett, Colo.; and Jerry Melvin, Jr., 24, of Roanoke, Va.
They have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Walls and three others were charged with conspiracy to commit copyright infringement. They are David Chen Pui, 26, of Fountain Valley, Calif., who has pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with the investigation; Shawn W. Laemmrich, 30, of Calumet, Mich.; and Franklin E. Littell, 48, of Martinsville, Ind.
Walls allegedly participated in a warez group from November 2002 to April 2004. The U.S. attorney’s office said he became part of the warez scene and would test original software obtained by a supplier. This software would be cracked and then reproduced and distributed over the Internet.
Prosecutors also allege Walls operated a “bounce box” to provide security and anonymity to others, and hosted an Internet FTP movie storage site that allowed other members of the warez group to download illegally obtained movies.