Bohanjian
June 2nd, 2003, 12:37 AM
Bootleg devices cost Lake County man $9M
Sent to me via email.
=======================================
Bootleg devices cost Lake County man $9M
06/01/03
A federal judge has ordered a Lake County man to pay $9 million in restitution to satellite-television company DirecTV for making and selling thousands of bootleg devices for pirating satellite-dish TV signals.
U.S. District Judge Peter Economus also sentenced the defendant, Donald Sockloskie, 51, of Concord Township, to a year in prison and two years of probation at a hearing Friday.
An FBI investigation led to Sockloskie being charged in February with manufacturing, selling and distributing equipment that illegally decrypts scrambled satellite signals. He pleaded guilty March 6.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Kern said word had spread through an "underground community" of satellite-TV pirates that Sockloskie would illegally modify small circuit boards called DSS access cards and reprogramming devices.
The changes disarm electronic filters that keep DirecTV customers from getting pay-per-view programming and premium channels such as HBO, Showtime and Cinemax without paying the satellite service's premium fees.
Sockloskie admitted to altering 4,000 devices, charging $50 to $100 a pop, Kern said.
Federal prosecutors don't target users of the illegal devices, Kern said, though satellite companies can sue them or work out repayment.
The $9 million restitution figure, the prosecutor said, is based on a formula that estimates what the highest tier of premium and pay-per-view programming would cost - about $2,000 per year - multiplied by the 4,000 devices.
Kern said Sockloskie could have his future earnings garnisheed and have to forfeit assets, but he said the odds are slim that will ever repay DirecTV all the court ordered.
"The statute requires the court to order a restitution amount," Kern said. "Collecting it is another matter."
Sent to me via email.
=======================================
Bootleg devices cost Lake County man $9M
06/01/03
A federal judge has ordered a Lake County man to pay $9 million in restitution to satellite-television company DirecTV for making and selling thousands of bootleg devices for pirating satellite-dish TV signals.
U.S. District Judge Peter Economus also sentenced the defendant, Donald Sockloskie, 51, of Concord Township, to a year in prison and two years of probation at a hearing Friday.
An FBI investigation led to Sockloskie being charged in February with manufacturing, selling and distributing equipment that illegally decrypts scrambled satellite signals. He pleaded guilty March 6.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Kern said word had spread through an "underground community" of satellite-TV pirates that Sockloskie would illegally modify small circuit boards called DSS access cards and reprogramming devices.
The changes disarm electronic filters that keep DirecTV customers from getting pay-per-view programming and premium channels such as HBO, Showtime and Cinemax without paying the satellite service's premium fees.
Sockloskie admitted to altering 4,000 devices, charging $50 to $100 a pop, Kern said.
Federal prosecutors don't target users of the illegal devices, Kern said, though satellite companies can sue them or work out repayment.
The $9 million restitution figure, the prosecutor said, is based on a formula that estimates what the highest tier of premium and pay-per-view programming would cost - about $2,000 per year - multiplied by the 4,000 devices.
Kern said Sockloskie could have his future earnings garnisheed and have to forfeit assets, but he said the odds are slim that will ever repay DirecTV all the court ordered.
"The statute requires the court to order a restitution amount," Kern said. "Collecting it is another matter."