It is reported that the US government wants Nintendo hacker Gary Bowser to be jailed for five years in prison on top of the $4.5 million fine.
Gary Bowser was arrested in September 2020 as part of the hacking group known as Team-Xecuter, which formed in 2013. The criminal enterprise enabled users to play illegal ROMs on consoles such as the Nintendo Switch as well as the 3DS.
During his court hearing, Bowser faced 11 felony charges. Instead of facing a trial, Bowser pleaded guilty to two charges and offered to pay Nintendo $4.5 million in damages.
Bowser’s troubles are not over
Following the plea bargain appeal, the prosecution agreed to waive all other charges against Bowser. However, the judge warned that Bowser could still serve prison time. So his troubles were by no means over with. According to new court filings reported by Eurogamer, the two counts to which Bowser pleaded guilty, is punishable by up to five years in prison.
To add to Gary Bowser’s woes, it seems that the US government wants an example to be made as a stark warning to others that intend to follow in the footsteps of Team-Xecuter. The US government wants Bowser to serve five years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release as well as the $4.5 million fine.
60 months vs 19 months in prison
Bowser’s legal team has pleaded for a 19-month prison sentence which would see him released in three months due to the prison time already served. It is claimed by Bowser’s legal team that he earned $320,000 over a seven-year stint.
Furthermore, the legal team also argues that Bowser was not the worst offender of Team-Xecuter but is being forced to “take the full brunt of the government’s argument that the Court must ‘send a message of general deterrence by imposing a lengthy-term”.
The defence pleads its case
“Mr. Bowser played a significant role, but he was not the leader, was not in control of the enterprise, and was not the manufacturer of the devices,” claims the defence. “Without [fugitive co-defendants] Chen or Louarn, there would be no enterprise. But without Mr. Bowser, Louarn would have found someone else to be ‘the face’ of this effort.”
We’ll keep you updated should we hear of any further developments. That being said, what sentence do you believe Nintendo hacker Bowser should serve? Let us know across our social media channels.
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Featured Image Credit: Nintendo