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Pair Plead Guilty in Software Theft Ring

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From Times Staff Reports

Two key players in a prominent cyberspace gang, known as

DrinkorDie, pleaded guilty Thursday in Los Angeles federal court to criminal charges of copyright infringement.

Kentaga Kartadinata, 30, of Los Angeles and Mike Nguyen, 26, of West Los Angeles agreed to cooperate with the U.S. Customs Service in an investigation targeting members of the so-called Warez cyberspace gang around the world.

Assistant U.S. Atty. Christopher Johnson said in court that indictments are expected soon against at least 50 other DrinkorDie members.

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Under terms of a plea agreement, Kartadinata and Nguyen each face 27 to 33 months in prison. They are free on bail pending sentencing a year from now.

Nguyen, a computer programmer at UCLA, managed several of the group’s file servers containing thousands of pirated software titles.

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