Welsh Pirate Sent Down for Selling Bogus Software

A Welsh computer systems builder has been jailed for persistently selling illegally copied Microsoft software.

Raymond Jenkins, of Caerphilly, a director of Computer Direct Corporation, was sentenced to three months? imprisonment after police raided his premises twice in seven months.

Computer Direct was first raided in June 1995 after a test purchase from Welsh trading standard officers revealed its machines contained unlicensed Microsoft software.

After discovering that Jenkins was continuing to supply computers with pirated software, officers raided Computer Direct a second time in January 1996. A further batch of illegal software was seized.

Complaints were also received from some Computer Direct customers who said they had been sold old monitors by the reseller, despite the fact they had paid for new ones.

Personal proceedings were instituted against Jenkins because Computer Direct had ceased trading.

Mark Roberts, manager of Microsoft?s software theft business unit, said: ?With software theft it is the customer who suffers. The software Jenkins was supplying was not only illegal, it meant that his customers were left with no support. Microsoft has no hesitation in seeking a serious penalty for those who seek to defraud our customers.?