FBI Arrests 27 In Software Piracy Sting

Officials said Thursday's arrests followed a two-year investigation in which undercover officers, posing as distributors, purchased several million dollars worth of counterfeit software.

Many of the people arrested Thursday live in the San Francisco area. Most are Taiwanese who are accused of duplicating software programs in Taiwan before selling the pirated products, such as Microsoft Office 2000, in the United States, according to court records.

The 27 were arrested on a variety of charges, including money laundering, copyright infringement and trafficking in counterfeit goods, according to court filings.

Businesses lose an estimated $12 billion a year to software counterfeiting.

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