Man Indicted for Selling and Distributing Illegal Satellite TV Cards

August 7, 2001

Emily M. Sweeney, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, today announced that a federal grand jury in Cleveland, Ohio, returned a one count indictment, charging Joel L. Butler, age 40, of 9175 Township Road 79, Millersburg, Ohio, with selling and distributing electronic devices primarily used for unauthorized decryption of direct-to-home satellite television services, in violation of Title 47, United States Code, Section 605(e)(4).

The indictment charges that between on or about June 1, 1997, and on or about February 26, 2001, in the Northern District of Ohio, Eastern Division, Joel L. Butler sold and distributed to various individual customers, at least 50 "hacked" DirecTV DSS satellite access cards, which Butler had illegally altered and modified for the express purpose of illegally receiving and decrypting DirecTV DSS satellite television programming, including pay-per-view programs and premium channels such as HBO, Showtime and Cinemax, without paying the subscription fees normally associated with such programming.

The maximum statutory penalty for a violation of Title 47, United States Code, Section 605(e)(4) is 5 years imprisonment, and a fine of up to $250,000, or both.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert W. Kern, following an investigation by the Mansfield and Canton Offices 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.

• More information on: Butler's Plea
• More information on: Intellectual Property Crime Cases
• More information on: Protecting Intellectual Property Rights

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