Thanks to Nintendo, things keep getting worse for Bowser, hacker Gary Bowser, in fact. The Canadian hacker attacker has now been sentenced to 40 months in prison by the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington. The news comes Thursday via a press release from the United States Department of Justice.
Since 2013, Bowser has been the most public face of Team Xecuter, a hacker group that sold console mods. These mods allowed users to pirate games on Nintendo devices. After initially pleading guilty in November 2021, Bowser owed a whopping $ 4.5 million to Nintendo. Shortly thereafter, Bowser owed another $ 10 million as part of a civil suit. It may sound a bit extreme, but Nintendo says Bowser and his team cost the company $ 65 million in damages.
Previously, Bowser faced up to 10 years in prison. The prosecution wanted him to serve five years, but Bowser’s defense team pointed out that he is indeed a scapegoat as other members of the hacking team could not be extradited to the United States. As for Bowser, once he was in the Dominican Republic, he was deported to the United States to face justice.
In this case, “justice” was a kind of compromise. In addition to the money he owes, Bowser will serve up to 40 months in prison. That’s less than what the prosecution wanted and much less than the 10-year maximum potential. But the time in prison and the extreme amount of money he owes may very well act as a deterrent to future hacking groups that threaten Nintendo’s profits.
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