WASHINGTON—A leader of an online piracy group plead guilty Monday for his role in a scheme to distribute more than one million pirated copies of copyrighted Android mobile device applications, or “apps,” with a total retail value of more than $1.7 million.
Scott Walton, 28, of Cleveland, Ohio, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement. Walton will be sentenced at a later date.
A second co-conspirator, Kody Jon Peterson, 22, of Clermont, Florida, pleaded guilty on April 14, 2014, for his role in the conspiracy.
Court evidence indicated that Walton and his fellow conspirators identified themselves as members of the SnappzMarket Group.
From May 2011 through August 2012, they conspired to reproduce and distribute over one million copies of copyrighted Android mobile device apps.
The apps had a total retail value of over $1.7 million and were distributed through the SnappzMarket alternative online market without permission from the victim copyright owners, who would otherwise sell copies of the apps on legitimate online markets for a fee.
On Aug. 21, 2012, the FBI executed a seizure order against the www.snappzmarket.com website, which was the first time a website domain involving mobile device app marketplaces had been seized.