Emily M. Sweeney, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, today announced that a federal grand jury in Cleveland, Ohio, returned a three count indictment charging Steve Wisdom, age 30, or 1394 Gurley Circle, Akron, Ohio, with two counts of criminal infringement of copyrighted computer software, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2319(b)(1) and Title 17, United States Code, Section 506(a), and one count of trafficking in counterfeit labels affixed or designed to be affixed to unauthorized or counterfeit copies of copyrighted computer programs, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2318(a).

Counts 1 and 2 of the indictment charge that between March 1, 2000, and February 13, 2001, Wisdom willfully, and for the purpose of private financial gain, infringed the copyrights of various copyrighted computer software programs, by reproducing and distributing during a 180 day period unauthorized copies of ten or more copyrighted works having a retail value of $2,500.00 or more.

Count 3 of the indictment charges that between May 25, 2000, and February 20, 2001, Steve Wisdom knowingly trafficked in counterfeit labels affixed or designed to be affixed to unauthorized and counterfeit copies of copyrighted computer programs.

The maximum statutory penalties for each of the offenses charged in the indictment are 5 years imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000, or both, a period of between 2 and 3 years supervised release following any period of incarceration, and a $100 special assessment for the benefit of the Crime Victims Fund.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert W. Kern, Computer Crimes Coordinator for the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio, following an investigation by the Akron Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government's burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

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