United States Attorney's Office District of Connecticut
Press Release

Operation Higher Education: CALIFORNIA MAN WHO PARTICIPATED IN ONLINE PIRACY RING IS SENTENCED

Nora R. Dannehy, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that BRYAN CHANG, also known as “Kagetsu,” 32, of Monterey Park, California, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Alvin W. Thompson in Hartford to three years of probation, the first six months of which CHANG must spend in home confinement, for conspiring to commit criminal copyright infringement.  Judge Thompson also ordered CHANG to pay a fine in the amount of $6000.  This matter stems from a multinational software piracy investigation known as “Operation Higher Education.”

On March 27, 2009, CHANG pleaded guilty and admitted that, for approximately four years, he was a participant in the “warez scene,” an underground online community consisting of individuals and organized groups who engage in the large scale reproduction, modification and distribution of copyrighted software over the internet.  In the warez scene, certain participants (known as “suppliers”) are able to obtain access to copyrighted software, video games, DVD movies, and MP3 music files, often before those titles are even available to the general public. Other participants, known as “crackers,” then use their technical skills to circumvent or “crack” the digital copyright protections. Others, known as “couriers,” then distribute the pirated software to various file storage sites (“FTP sites”) on the Internet for others to access, reproduce, and further distribute.  The leading warez groups competed with one another to attain the reputation as the fastest, highest quality providers of pirated materials.

During the course of the conspiracy, CHANG had unlimited access to several warez FTP sites to and from which he transferred pirated software and other digital media, and he also set up his own FTP server to enable him to receive pirated games from another member of the warez community.  As of March 24, 2004, an FTP warez server accessed by CHANG contained approximately 10,000 titles of pirated software, games and movies.

In addition, CHANG has admitted that he supplied warez groups with new software titles and modifying game console hardware to allow the use of illegal copies of games on the modified game console.  CHANG also transferred “pre-release” games, which are games that had not yet been released and would not be for over a month, to and from FTP warez servers.

“Operation Higher Education” is the largest component of the global law enforcement action known as “Operation Fastlink,” announced by the Department of Justice on April 22, 2004.  Twelve nations participated in the investigation, which resulted in more than 120 search warrants executed in the United States, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Israel, the Netherlands, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom; the confiscation of hundreds of computers and illegal online distribution hubs; and the removal of more than $50 million worth of illegally copied software, games, movies and music from illicit distribution channels.  More than 60 individuals have been convicted as a result of this investigation.

“Operation Higher Education” was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s New Haven office in coordination with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut and the Department of Justice’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (“CCIPS”).  This matter is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Edward Chang and Senior Counsel Clement McGovern of CCIPS.

CONTACT:

U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
Tom Carson
(203) 821-3722
thomas.carson@usdoj.gov