Nintendo Hacker Gary Bowser to spend the next two years in prison
After almost a year and a half in court, infamous Nintendo Switch hacker Gary Bowser is slated to spend the next two years in federal prison.
In August 2020, the United States of America filed a case against a hacking group known as Team Xecuter. The team consisted of Max Louran, Yuanning Chen, and Gary Bowser. So far, Gary Bowser is the only member of the team who has been apprehended.
The case claimed the team had been involved in manufacturing and selling hacked gaming hardware that allowed users to access and play pirated versions of copyrighted games. A warrant was also issued for the arrest of Gary Bowser.
On October 2, 2020, Bowser was arrested in the Dominican Republic and was extradited to the U.S. He remained in federal custody for the duration of the case, a total of 16 months.
Gary Bowser will spend the next 24 months in jail following his sentencing from the U.S. District Court.Gary Bowser sentenced to 40 months in prison
In November of 2021, Bowser plead guilty to conspiring to circumvent technology measures and trafficking said circumvention devices. At the beginning of February 2022, The United States of America suggested Bowser spend 5 years in prison, while Bowser’s lawyers suggested 16 months.
On February 10, 2022, the US District Court sentenced Bowser to 40 months served in federal prison. Since Bowser has already served 16 months over the duration of the case, he will only spend the next 24 months in prison.
This is why Bowser’s legal team requested a sentence of 19 months. He would have only had to spend an additional three months in prison. This is because, in the United States, the time spent in custody during a court case is credited towards the overall sentence.
However, Bowser still owes the United States $4.5 million in restitution. This is on top of the $10 million he owes to Nintendo of America following a recent lawsuit. That being said, all fines for the case have been waived as the court deems Bowser “unable” to pay them.
Gary Bowser has to pay a combined total of $14.5 million in restitutions to the U.S.A and Nintendo of America.Both Max Louran and Yuanning Chen remain at large as the U.S.A. still seeks to prosecute them. Bowser’s public defender states that they reside in countries that “may not extradite them for prosecution.”
They also claim that, while Team Xecuter made “tens of millions of dollars”, Bowser made a total of $320,000 over seven years. “Mr. Bowser is left to take the full brunt of the government’s argument that the Court must ‘end a message’.”
While the case continues for Louran and Chen, Bowser’s inside story has come to a close. He will spend the next 24 months in prison and must find a way to pay $14.5 million dollars in restitution.