Todd Alan Cook, Software Piracy, Texas 2010

Texas Man Sentenced for Selling $1 Million Worth of Pirated Software

WICHITA FALLS, Texas – Todd Alan Cook, 24, of Wichita Falls, Texas, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for selling pirated software online, announced U.S. Attorney Neil H. MacBride for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Cook was also sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $599,771. He pleaded guilty on March 11, 2010, to criminal copyright infringement in the U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va.

According to court documents, from July 2006 through May 2008, Cook, his father Robert D. Cook, and another individual operated several websites that sold large volumes of counterfeit software with a combined retail value of approximately $1 million.

Cook admitted that he and his co-conspirators used these websites to sell downloadable counterfeit software without authorization from the copyright owners. Robert Cook pleaded guilty on March 11, 2010, to one count of conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement and is scheduled to be sentenced before Judge Ellis on Dec. 3, 2010.

This case is part of the ongoing initiative to combat online commercial counterfeiting and piracy. Including Todd Cook’s guilty plea, the government has obtained 46 convictions involving online auction and commercial distribution of counterfeit software.

Todd Alan Cook is a resident of Wichita Falls, Texas, and was sentenced to 18 months in prison for selling pirated software online. He pleaded guilty to criminal copyright infringement in the U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va, on March 11, 2010.

The exact criminal charges against Todd Alan Cook are Criminal Copyright Infringement. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison and three years of supervised release. Cook was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $599,771.

Todd Alan Cook’s case is a result of an investigation by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center, with substantial assistance provided by the Office of the Special Agent-in-Charge in Dallas. The Wichita Falls Police Department also assisted in the investigation.

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