A Battle Ground couple pleaded guilty Thursday in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to charges that resulted from 10 years spent selling counterfeit Microsoft software.
Wayne Chih-Wei Shu, 44, pleaded guilty to mail fraud, trafficking in counterfeit goods, trafficking in illicit labels and two counts of willful failure to file tax returns. His wife, Maynila Voravongseng, also pleaded guilty to the tax charges, according to a news release issued by the U.S. Department of Justice.
Shu and Voravongseng entered the plea agreements after opening statements were delivered in their trial. They will be sentenced April 18. Shu faces up to 37 years in prison; Voravongseng could serve up to two years.
Shu owned and operated four companies that sold counterfeit software, or software that had been tampered with. The sales included kits that contained several components, some genuine, some not, that made it difficult for customers to find out the software was counterfeit.
When police executed a search warrant on Shu’s residence in June 2007, they seized $2.6 million worth of software and other materials. An analysis revealed 41 percent of the software to be counterfeit.
Shu’s companies were called Micro Sharp Inc., Micro Sharp Technologies Inc., Microsharp.com.Inc, and Meet Your Price Inc.
As part of the plea agreement, Shu admitted to selling more than $1 million of counterfeit software and illicit labels. Shu continued to sell the counterfeit products even after Microsoft sent him multiple cease-and-desist letters.
The couple failed to file personal income taxes in 2004, 2005 and 2006. Over that period, the couple did not report nearly $335,000 in personal income.
The couple has agreed to work with the IRS to determine their tax liabilities from 2004-2007. Additionally, Shu and Voravongseng are forfeiting to the government a 2000 Mercedes-Benz, $70,000 cash, bank accounts and equity in their home. The amount of restitution will be determined at sentencing.
The case was investigated by the FBI and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation.
