Police Sting On Illegal Arcade Cabinet Manufacturers Reveal Lavish Lifestyle
This isn't your typical organized crime family. A woman, her son and ex-husband were making a tidy profit from selling illegal arcade cabinets.
Six individuals from Santa Clara, California were arrested in a police sting after investigating a company called CoinOpStore [via the San Francisco Chronicle]. The company was manufacturing and selling arcade cabinets that contained up to 3,000 illegal Bandai Namco titles such as Pac-Man, Galaga and more.
Bandai Namco also has its U.S. offices in Santa Clara so the prevailing notion is that the counterfeit arcade makers gained access to the game via an inside job.
The six, including a mother, her son, and her ex-husband, have been charged with 14 counts of felony counterfeiting and face a maximum sentence of 11 years in prison, plus fines. Perhaps more interesting, in the police raid, law enforcement seized 1.2 million in cash, a 2012 Mercedes Benz a 2015 BMW and five residential properties.