Press Release

For Immediate Release

May 23, 2000

TEXAS WOMAN CHARGED WITH RUNNING RING
THAT TRAFFICKED IN COUNTERFEIT SOFTWARE

A woman from Plano, Texas has been charged for her alleged role in a trafficking ring that purchased and distributed counterfeit Microsoft software, United States Attorney Alejandro N. Mayorkas announced today.

Jing Jing Fan Mou, 40, appeared yesterday in United States District Court in Los Angeles and entered a not guilty plea to a six-count indictment returned on May 11 by a federal grand jury in Los Angeles. Mou, who is free on a $50,000 bond, is currently scheduled to go to trial on July 11 before United States District Judge Manuel Real.

The indictment and other court documents accuse Mou of arranging for the purchase of foreign-manufactured counterfeit software from a company called Aventec. An accomplice of Mou would transport various shipments to a freight forwarder, who was instructed to ship the counterfeit products to a co-conspirator at Velocity Computers in Cincinnati, Ohio, where they would be sold to retail customers.

The counterfeit products in this case - including Microsoft Windows NT Server and Professional Office 1997 software - have a retail value of up to $18 million.

The indictment in this case charges Mou with conspiracy, two counts of trafficking in counterfeit goods and three counts of money laundering. These charges carry a maximum penalty of 85 years in federal prison.

An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. A defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

This case is the product of an ongoing investigation by the United States Customs Service, which received assistance from the Criminal Investigation Division of the Internal Revenue Service.

This prosecution is part of the Department of Justice's Intellectual Property Rights Initiative, which was announce earlier last year by the Department of Justice, the Customs Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Initiative, which is targeting piracy and counterfeiting in seven federal judicial districts with ports, 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) 894-2686

   Assistant United States Attorney Alka Sagar
   (213) 894-6223

 Release No. 00-102

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• More information on:  Protecting Intellectual Property Rights
• More information on:  Prosecuting Intellectual Property Rights Violations
• More information on: Mou's Plea
• More information on: Mou's Sentence