Hacker Leader Taunts Nintendo Following Bowser Verdict

thegamer.com:

Gary Bowser wasn’t the leader of Team Xecuter, but recent reports revealed that prosecutors wanted to make an example out of him. Bowser was sentenced to 40 months in prison and ordered to pay $14.5 million in fines for taking part in Team Xecuter’s operation to create illegal mod chips that allowed users to play pirated Switch games.

Bowser’s lawyers argued for a lighter sentence, noting that Bowser was just an employee and had multiple health conditions. Nintendo’s lawyer and the federal judge overseeing the case wanted to "send a message" to hackers elsewhere.

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That message doesn’t seem to have been heard by Team Xecuter leader Max Louarn. In an interview with French publication Le Monde (via Eurogamer), Louarn seems to even taunt Nintendo. "Stealing from companies that make billions, what do I care?" Louarn said. "They hate me. I bet that in Tokyo, they posted my picture in an office."

Louarn's confidence stems from a long history of battling the law. He's been arrested at least three times, first in 1993 for a Nintendo piracy case, and later over selling stolen phone cards where he spent 5 years in prison. That only happened after he was lured to the United States under the promise of a party that turned out to be a federal sting operation. In 2005, Louarn was linked to a company selling PlayStation mod chips and was ordered to pay a $5 million fine. And most recently, Louarn was arrested while vacationing in Tanzania but managed to escape incarceration before the FBI could deport him to America.

It seems clear that Louarn views himself as a modern day Robin Hood figure, even going as far as taking credit for some of the modern luxuries we take for granted.

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