
News
Share
Published 11:28 20 Apr 2023 BST
Updated 11:28 20 Apr 2023 BST

A man jailed for more than three years and fined $14.5 (£11.6m) for his role in a Nintendo hacking group has been released from jail, but his punishment is far from over.
Gary Bowser now has to pay the company 25-30 per cent of his salary every month until the debt is paid off.
Bowser was jailed in 2021- after being indicted in 2020 alongside Max Louarn and Yuanning Chen - for being part of Team Xecuter, which sold chips allowing gamers to play pirated games.
Despite reportedly having a lesser role in the enterprise, as its marketing and PR manager, Bowser was the only one of the trio convicted in the US. Chen, a Chinese national, was never arrested; Louarn was never successfully extradited to the US.
Bowser initially faced 11 charges but pled guilty to two. He was sentenced to a $4.5 million fine and later a $10 million additional fine as well as handed prison time.
Just over a year into his sentence, Bowser was released on 28 March, apparently, in part, due to good behaviour.
In a recent interview with podcaster Nick Moses, Bowser said he was currently in a detention awaiting processing before being sent home to Canada.
Of the millions he owes, Bowser told Moses that he had paid off $175 (£140). He was making $25 (£20) monthly instalments from the money he was making working in the prison library.
If the 53-year-old returns to work in Canada, his pay will be docked until the debt is cleared. Bowser's agreement with Nintendo requires him to pay the company 25-30 per cent of his pay.
Previously, Bowser stated that while Team Xecuter earned "at least tens of millions of dollars of proceeds," he himself only received a small fraction of that, IGN reported.
During Bowser's trial, US District Judge Robert Lasnick reportedly said that Bowser's sentence was in part "a message" to deter other hackers.
Related links:
Explore more on these topics:
Why Google wants to release 32,000,000 infected mosquitoes into the wild
It’s not quite as crazy as it sounds Google wants to release 32,000,000 disease-infected mosquitoes into the wild. Yes, you heard that right, and while this may sound like the evil masterplan of a crazed villain, the project is actually one of goodwill for the betterment of humanity. For thousands of years, humans have been […]
News
9h
All the reviews for Clarkson’s Farm Series 5 as audience favourite returns
It seems people are divided The new season of Clarkson’s Farm focuses on Jeremy Clarkson’s efforts to modernise Diddly Squat Farm, as he deals with major farming challenges, a changing political landscape, and the growing demands of running his new pub. Season 5 of the documentary reality series begins after a health scare forces Jeremy […]
News
9h
Amazon confirms exact dates for four-day Prime Day event
News