July 29, 2024 at 02:05PM
Three individuals involved in a large-scale software pirating operation, selling unauthorized Avaya business telephone system software licenses worth over $88,000,000, were sentenced to prison. The individuals, Raymond Bradley “Brad” Pearce, Dusti O. Pearce, and Jason M. Hines, pleaded guilty and were ordered to forfeit between $2 to $4 million as part of their sentencing.
Based on the meeting notes provided, the key takeaways are:
1. Three individuals – Raymond Bradley “Brad” Pearce, Dusti O. Pearce, and Jason M. Hines – orchestrated a software pirating operation involving the sale of unauthorized Avaya business telephone system software licenses. This resulted in substantial losses for Avaya, estimated at $88,000,000.
2. Brad Pearce, a customer service agent at Avaya, abused his administrative privileges to generate thousands of unauthorized software licenses for reselling. He also hijacked the accounts of former Avaya employees to generate additional licenses without detection.
3. The illegal operation involved the resale of these unauthorized licenses to Jason M. Hines, the owner of Direct Business Services International (DBSI), who then sold them to resellers and end users worldwide at much lower prices than their designated cost.
4. The Department of Justice announced that Brad Pearce was sentenced to four years in prison and ordered to forfeit $4 million, Dusti O. Pearce was sentenced to one year and a day in prison and must also forfeit $4 million, and Jason M. Hines was sentenced to one year and six months in prison, with an additional 18 months of home confinement, and must forfeit $2 million.
These clear takeaways have been derived from the meeting notes and summarize the major points and consequences of the software pirating operation and the subsequent legal action taken against the individuals involved.