Student Faces 10 Year Sentence For Modding His Consoles
Piracy isn’t cool kids. Matthew Crippen, a 27 year old student, modified his Xbox (I assume 360), his PlayStation (again, I assume 3) and his Wii.
After the ESA tipped off Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, they raided his house last May and found all the evidence they needed to prosecute. How the ESA knew he was a scurvy pirate, the AP report doesn’t say. I assume he was talking about modding his consoles on a podcast. (That was a joke ESA, please don’t listen to our podcast.)
According to an ICE statement he is accused of modifying for personal financial gain technology affecting control or access to a copyrighted work. Surly that’s not worth all this fuss? Well, that isn’t, but NBC were sent the ICE statement which also said that during the raid on his home, the officers “seized more than a dozen Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony video game consoles.” This makes much more sense.
Stay in school and don’t try and start large, illegal console modding companies from your house. Lesson learned.
ESA, whats the European Space Agency got to do with anything? Oh wait, maybe it was the European Sociological Association, no wait that can’t be right. I’ve got it, it was the Environmental Services Association wasn’t it? No, damn! Maybe it was those buggers down at the European Snacks Association or perhaps it’s those shysters at the Ecological Society of America or the Entomological Society of America instead, for a moment I thought it might have even been the European Sponsorship Association but then it dawned on me it was the Entertainment Software Association (what is it with these organisations and their intials?!).
Honestly Wardrox, I would seriously not push your luck. Mod a console, fine, but don’t go blabbing about it all the time.