Student Charged Under DMCA for Modifying Game Consoles

August 5, 2009 - 9:29am.

Anaheim, Calif. - A 27-year-old California man has been arrested and charged with breaching the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), for allegedly modifying video game consoles so that pirated games could be played on them.

The home of Cal State Fullerton student Matthew Crippen was raided by Homeland Security authorities on Monday, who received a tip from the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), a trade group of video game publishers.

The raid resulted in the seizure of "more than a dozen Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony video game consoles," according a statement from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Crippen faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted of operating a console-modifying business.

He told Wired.com that he charged about $30 per modification job, and learned how to jailbreak a console in ten minutes by searching Google.