GEORGIA –– The leader of a piracy group engaged in the illegal distribution of copies of copyrighted Android mobile apps and a co-conspirator plead guilty to distributing more than one million copies of copyrighted apps with a retail value of more than $700,000, federal officials said.
“Copyright infringement discourages smart, innovative people from using their talents to create things that the rest of society can use and enjoy,” said U.S. Attorney Sally Quillen Yates. “Theft is theft – whether the property taken is intellectual or tangible – and we will continue to prosecute those who steal copyrighted material.”
Nicholas Anthony Narbone, 26, of Orlando, Fla., plead guilty today to one count of conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement, and Thomas Allen Dye, 21, of Jacksonville, Fla., pleaded guilty to the same change in March.
Sentencing is scheduled for July 8, 2014, and June 12, 2014, respectively.
Narbone, Dye and their fellow conspirators identified themselves as the Appbucket group, with Narbone as the leader, officials stated.
From August 2010 to August 2012, authorities said they conspired with other members of the Appbucket group to copy and distribute more than one million copies of copyrighted Android apps through the Appbucket alternative online market without permission from the copyright owners of the apps, according to officials.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI.