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September 25, 2000Go to . . . CCIPS Home Page || Justice Department Home PageTEXAS WOMAN PLEADS GUILTY TO OPERATING RING
THAT TRAFFICKED IN COUNTERFEIT MICROSOFT SOFTWARE
A woman from Plano, Texas pleaded guilty today to federal charges for running a trafficking ring that purchased and distributed counterfeit Microsoft software, United States Attorney Alejandro N. Mayorkas announced.
Jing Jing Fan Mou, 40, appeared this afternoon in United States District Court in Los Angeles and entered guilty pleas to two felony charges. Appearing before United States District Judge Manuel Real, Mou pleaded guilty to a conspiracy count and one count of trafficking in counterfeit goods.
In a plea agreement filed with the court, Mou acknowledged that she arranged for the purchase of counterfeit Microsoft software from a company called Aventec. Mou caused an accomplice to transport various shipments of the counterfeit products to a co-conspirator at Velocity Computers in Cincinnati, Ohio, where the counterfeit products were, in turn, sold to retail customers.
Mou admitted that the black market value of the counterfeit products in this case - including Microsoft Windows NT Server and Professional Office 1997 software - was more than $600,000.
Mou is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Real on December 4. At that time, she faces a maximum penalty of 25 years in federal prison.
This case is the product of an ongoing investigation by the United States Customs Service.
This prosecution is part of the Department of Justice's Intellectual Property Rights Initiative. Along with the Customs Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Justice Department prosecutors are targeting piracy and counterfeiting in seven federal judicial districts with ports. The initiative is designed to more effectively investigate and prosecute intellectual property crimes, which is now one of the Department's white collar crime priorities.
CONTACT: Assistant United States Attorney Pamela Johnston
(213) 894-2686Assistant United States Attorney Alka Sagar
(213) 894-6223Release No. 00-102
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