Maryland game pirate sunk

A Maryland-based game retailer has become the latest casualty in the game industry's war on piracy. The Entertainment Software Association today announced that Biren Amin, owner of Pandora's Cube, has been sentenced to five months in prison and fined $247,237.05 for selling illegally modified Xboxes preloaded with illegal games. Once out of prison, Amin is subject to five months of home confinement and three years of supervised release, and he must complete 80 hours of community service as part of his sentence.

In addition to imported games, anime and hentai DVDs, Pandora's Cube also sold "Super Xboxes," modified versions of Microsoft's console with a larger hard drive that came prehacked and loaded with illegal software for $500.

Amin is the fourth person associated with Pandora's Cube to be convicted and sentenced for gaming piracy. Last month, Hitesh Patel, a store manager at Pandora's Cube, was sentenced to four months in prison, four months under house arrest, and two years of probation. Mguresh Amin, another store manager, received a sentence of six months of home confinement, 24 months of probation, and 150 hours of community service. Herbie Walker, a senior retail manager, was sentenced to six months of home confinement, 24 months of probation, and 100 hours of community service.

The ESA called the sentencing "a clarion warning for others contemplating computer and video game piracy," with ESA president Douglas Lowenstein adding, "Sentences of this magnitude send a clear message to game retailers that selling pirate products has serious consequences, including prosecution to the fullest extent of the law."