Create your free account now! Sign up

Raid uncovers satellite TV piracy operation

Raid uncovers satellite TV piracy operation
2004-02-24
By Mac Bentley
The Oklahoman

WILSON -- What started out as a drug raid has blossomed into a widespread satellite television programming and computer software piracy investigation, an investigator with the Carter County Drug Task Force said Monday.

Gary Watson said a drug raid about three weeks ago uncovered an apparent rape victim, who told investigators of the programming piracy going on in this small town off U.S. 70 about 20 miles west of Ardmore.

"It has really snowballed," Watson said.

Authorities arrested brothers Stanley Brereton, 44, and Stacey Brereton, 36, last weekend. They're each being held in the Carter County jail on $250,000 bail for violations of the Computer Crimes Act.

Watson said the Breretons were using black market devices brought in from Canada to reprogram the coded cards needed to operate satellite receivers. They sold the cards for $200, Watson said.

"It's kind of gotten bigger all at once," Watson said of the operation's scope. "There are probably going to be 700 or 800 of those DirecTV cards at the very least."

Watson said authorities are busy rounding up the counterfeit cards.

"People are ratting each other out," he said. "You can also drive around and look up at the dishes on the houses, a lot of them are dope people, meth people who don't have running water, but they've got a satellite receiver.

"There's going to be business people that have the cards as well. It's kind of a mess now."

Watson said the U.S. Attorney's office in Muskogee probably will be taking over the case this week. The FBI will be taking over the Breretons' computers to search for a list of customers.

Watson said several names were found on papers, and, "Sure enough every name we went to had a card."

DirecTV is sending an investigator from its California offices, and Watson expects Microsoft to become involved. It was discovered Monday that the brothers also apparently were pirating software.

Watson said the cards have been sold in at least five counties and he expects the investigation also will take them into north Texas.

"One of these jokers worked at Uniroyal (in Ardmore) at one time and we think he signed up about half the people there," Watson said.

Watson said he also expects to find the operation stretches to Utah, where the brothers lived for a while.

"They had kinfolk down here," Watson said. "Their dad bought some property and opened a computer business here, so they followed him down and took it over. He's been deceased for quite some time now."

Watson said the $200 got buyers all DirecTV programming, including premium movie channels and sports channels. Every few months satellites transmitted instructions to the cards to stop operating, but customers could just go back to the Breretons to get the cards reprogrammed free, Watson said.
News Ok.com
This is CABL.com posting #127035. Tiny Link: cabl.co/mHc7
There are 0 replies to this message