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Kevin J. O'Connor, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut
announced that ROSS ISHIDA, age 23, of 1080 Ala Napunani Street, Honolulu,
Hawaii, waived indictment and pleaded guilty today to an information
charging him with conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement.
ISHIDA'S plea of guilty was accepted this morning by Senior United
States District Judge Ellen Bree Burns in New Haven.
According to documents filed in federal court, ISHIDA, a.k.a. "daphantm"
or "daph," was a participant in the "warez scene"
– an underground online community that consists of individuals
and organized groups who use the internet to engage in the large-scale,
illegal distribution of copyrighted software. In the warez scene,
certain participants (known as "suppliers") are able to
obtain access to copyrighted software, video games, DVD movies, and
MP3 music files, often before those titles are even available to the
general public. Other participants (known as "crackers")
then use their technical skills to circumvent or "crack"
the digital copyright protections. Others (known as "couriers")
distribute the pirated software to various file servers on the internet
for others to access, reproduce, and further distribute.
In pleading guilty, ISHIDA admitted that he acted as a distributor
or "courier" of pirated software and that he uploaded and
downloaded numerous illegal copies to and from warez sites on the
Internet. In addition, ISHIDA admitted that he was responsible for
installing and maintaining his own warez server, which was attached
to a high-speed internet link located at the University of Hawaii.
"Stealing the intellectual property of others is no different
from any other form of thievery," U.S. Attorney Kevin J. O'Connor
stated. "It is a priority of this Office and the Department of
Justice to protect the intellectual property rights of our nation's
inventors and creators."
"Software piracy is theft by criminals, plain and simple,"
added Robin Avers, Special Agent in Charge of the New England Office
of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. "It is multi-billion
dollar thievery, and ICE will continue to target and dismantle those
criminal organizations that abuse the internet by facilitating and
participating in this activity."
ISHIDA faces a possible punishment of up to five years' imprisonment,
three years' supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000 when
he is sentenced by Judge Burns on April 6, 2004.
This case was prosecuted as part of Operation Safehaven, a fifteen-month
investigation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
("ICE") and the ICE Cyber Crimes Center, in conjunction
with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Connecticut and
the Department of Justice, Computer Crime and Intellectual Property
Section ("CCIPS"). This case is being prosecuted by Assistant
United States Attorney Shawn J. Chen and CCIPS Trial Attorney Kenneth
L. Doroshow.
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