Microsoft was very unhappy that a license for their flagship product could be purchased for pennies.
A US court has convicted a Florida resident of selling Microsoft software activation codes for several years. She purchased genuine stickers containing license keys, removed the codes from the original products, and sold them worldwide.
Heidi Richards, 52, received 22 months in federal prison and a $50,000 fine. The sentence was announced in U.S. District Court following an investigation by U.S. prosecutors.
The investigation established that Richards operated an internet company, Trinity Software Distribution. From July 2018 to January 2023, the company purchased tens of thousands of genuine "certificate of authenticity" stickers from a supplier in Texas.
These stickers are typically placed on computers. The markings confirm the legitimacy of installed Microsoft software , such as Windows 10 or Microsoft Office. Each sticker contains a unique activation code and special anti-counterfeiting features.
American law prohibits the sale of such stickers separately from the software and hardware for which the license is intended . However, Richards' business was built on separating keys from the original kits.
According to court documents, the entrepreneur and her accomplices purchased the stickers at a price significantly lower than the cost of the software. Company employees manually extracted the activation codes, entered the combinations into spreadsheets, and prepared them for sale.
The licenses were then distributed in large quantities to buyers from various countries. The funds were transferred to a supplier in Texas. The total amount transferred over several years exceeded $5.1 million.
The prosecutor's office believes the scheme exploited the shadow market for COA stickers. These stickers have no independent commercial value and are intended solely to confirm a legitimate license, along with software and hardware.
A US court has convicted a Florida resident of selling Microsoft software activation codes for several years. She purchased genuine stickers containing license keys, removed the codes from the original products, and sold them worldwide.
Heidi Richards, 52, received 22 months in federal prison and a $50,000 fine. The sentence was announced in U.S. District Court following an investigation by U.S. prosecutors.
The investigation established that Richards operated an internet company, Trinity Software Distribution. From July 2018 to January 2023, the company purchased tens of thousands of genuine "certificate of authenticity" stickers from a supplier in Texas.
These stickers are typically placed on computers. The markings confirm the legitimacy of installed Microsoft software , such as Windows 10 or Microsoft Office. Each sticker contains a unique activation code and special anti-counterfeiting features.
American law prohibits the sale of such stickers separately from the software and hardware for which the license is intended . However, Richards' business was built on separating keys from the original kits.
According to court documents, the entrepreneur and her accomplices purchased the stickers at a price significantly lower than the cost of the software. Company employees manually extracted the activation codes, entered the combinations into spreadsheets, and prepared them for sale.
The licenses were then distributed in large quantities to buyers from various countries. The funds were transferred to a supplier in Texas. The total amount transferred over several years exceeded $5.1 million.
The prosecutor's office believes the scheme exploited the shadow market for COA stickers. These stickers have no independent commercial value and are intended solely to confirm a legitimate license, along with software and hardware.