ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Quynh Trong Nguyen, 36, of Annandale, Virginia, pleaded guilty today to copyright infringement, in connection with his sale of counterfeit and altered computer software.  Nguyen has also agreed to forfeit more than $650,000 in seized liquid assets.

            Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; John P. Torres, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Washington, DC; and Acting Inspector in Charge Peter R. Rendina of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service made the announcement after the plea hearing before United States District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema.

According to court documents, over a three and a half year period, Nguyen sold more than $2.3 million in copyright-infringing computer software and defrauded more than two thousand customers.  He sold the software through several Internet websites operated from his home in Annandale, Virginia.  The software, much of which was shipped from overseas, included popular titles, such as Adobe Acrobat, Microsoft Office, and Autodesk AutoCAD.  In addition to selling counterfeit software, Nguyen falsely represented to suppliers that he was eligible to purchase and resell educational software in connection with George Mason University.  Nguyen then altered the educational software, which he later sold at higher prices, by painting over labels and modifying the product packaging.

            The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the United States Postal Inspection Service.  Assistant United States Attorneys Ryan K. Dickey and Jay V. Prabhu prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae.  Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.uspci.uscourts.gov.

 

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