EXCLUSIVE: Enteprising PSP Pirates Advertised on Craigslist, Says Sony

They say that you can sell just about anything on Craigslist. And if allegations by SCEA are correct, a pair of enterprising - if not especially bright - game pirates used the popular online service to advertise their illegal PSP modding operations.

In August SCEA filed suit in U.S. District Court in California, alleging that Gabriel Garcia and Timothy Joey Zoucha, Jr. modded PSPs and loaded them with over 500 pirated games. Both men live in San Jose, California.

In its complaint, Sony alleges that Garcia billed himself as: "THE ONLY TRUE FIRST PSP MODDER ON CRAIGSLIST," offering "cash only package deals" that included "500+ PSP games". Sony said that Garcia even went as far as to display a PlayStation logo in his Craigslist ad.

Sony apparently used private investigators to track the pair down. One P.I. met with Garcia at his residence, according to the complaint, and paid the alleged pirate $80 to mod a PSP and load it with 100 games. Garcia apparently advertised such a transaction as his "Super Spring Deal". The complaint further alleges that Garcia sold the investigator 11 DVD-Rs containing more games and then showed the investigator how to transfer the games to a PSP via PC. Ever-helpful, Garcia also gave the investigator a "How to Use Your PSP Mods" guide on DVD.

Among the pirated games allegedly sold by Garcia were Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories, Parappa the Rapper and Twisted Metal: Head On.

Zoucha was taken down in similar fashion, according to the complaint, which alleges that he agreed to mod the P.I.'s PSP for $28 and supply a DVD containing 100 pirated games for another twenty bucks. The complaint also says that, like Garcia, Zoucha sold the investigator five DVD-Rs containing additional pirated games and told the investigator that he would give her a deal if she brought him more PSPs to mod.

Among the titles allegedly supplied by Zoucha are: Burnout: Legends, Call of Duty: Roads to Victory and Madden NFL 08.

From the complaint:

Defendants Gabriel Garcia and Timothy Joey Zoucha, Jr... brazenly offer their services on Craigslist.org to "mod" or "unbrick" PSP consoles so as to allow illegal unauthorized copies of SCEA's video game software to operate on the unlawfully modified PSP console... Defendants were caught red-handed...

A court date is scheduled later this month. Read the complaint here.