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An Orange County man has pleaded guilty to federal charges that he
manufactured, labeled and sold counterfeit Microsoft software, United
States Attorney Alejandro N. Mayorkas announced today.
Adrian Frederick Herr, 30, of Laguna Hills, pleaded guilty Thursday
afternoon to one count of infringing Microsoft’s copyrights on
a variety of computer software products, including Microsoft Windows
98, Microsoft Windows 2000, Microsoft Office 2000 and Microsoft Publisher
2000. Herr also pleaded guilty to one count of labeling the counterfeit
products with phony Microsoft labels.
Pleading guilty to the two felony counts before United States District
Judge Alicemarie H. Stoler in federal court in Santa Ana, Herr admitted
that he manufactured – or "burned" – illicit copies
of copyrighted Microsoft products without Microsoft’s authorization
or approval. Herr further admitted to placing an advertisement on the
Internet and in the Recycler magazine, and then selling his counterfeit
software out of his house.
Previously, the government offered Herr a chance to get out of the counterfeit
software business in return for not filing charges. But Herr was back
advertising, manufacturing and selling counterfeit software within weeks
of entering into an agreement with the government in April 2000.
Investigators believe that Herr sold between $20,000 and $30,000 worth
of counterfeit software.
Herr is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Stotler on May 21. The two
felony charges in this case carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal
prison and fines of up to $500,000.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
CONTACT: Assistant United States Attorney David S. Lavine
(714) 338-3593
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