14 DAY TRIAL // In July 2013, US authorities charged three men with hacking into the networks of several major video game companies in an effort to steal unreleased versions of games. The indictment has recently been released.
The indictment obtained by The Smoking Gun shows that Nathan Leroux, 19, of Wisconsin; Sanadodeh Nesheiwat, 28, of New Jersey; and David Pokora of Canada have been charged with 15 felony counts. The list includes computer hacking, fraud, identity theft, criminal copyright infringement and conspiracy.
Two others, a youth from Australia identified by his initials, D.W., and a man from North Carolina, are also said to have been involved in the operation, but they haven’t been charged. The FBI has arrested Leroux and Nesheiwat, but it’s uncertain if Pokora has been brought into custody as well.
Authorities believe the suspects started their operation in early 2011. Over a period of more than two years, they targeted a number of companies that create video games, including Activision Blizzard, Epic Games, Valve and Zombie Studios. They’ve also targeted Microsoft in an effort to steal the design of the Xbox console.
The hackers are said to have gained access to unreleased versions of games such as Gears of War 3 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. With the information stolen from Microsoft, which at the time was working on Xbox One, they managed to make a counterfeit version of the next-generation console which they planned on selling for $5,000 (€3,600).
FBI agents intercepted the counterfeit version of the gaming console. Microsoft confirmed at the time that it contained stolen intellectual property.
Equally damaging was their hack attack on Zombie Studios as a result of which they managed to obtain simulation software for Apache helicopters. Zombie had been contracted by the US Army to develop the AH-64D Apache Simulator.
D.W., the suspect from Australia, is most likely Dylan Wheeler, aka SuperDaE, whose home was raided by Australian authorities in February 2013.
After the raid, SuperDaE threatened that he would leak confidential information on the Xbox One console if police arrested him. At the time, he also claimed to have classified information on Sony’s PlayStation 4.
In July 2013, Kotaku reported that Wheeler was formally charged after police said he refused to unlock the MacBook Pro that was seized when his house was raided in February. Wheeler claimed he couldn’t remember his password since he changed it often.