Oklahoma couple sentenced in large-scale phone software scheme ordered to forfeit millions

Three people, including an Oklahoma couple, have been sentenced in a case involving more than $88 million in pirated business telephone software licenses.

In Oklahoma City federal court, Raymond Bradley Pearce, 48, of Tuttle, was sentenced this month to four years in federal prison and ordered to forfeit $4 million.

Dusti O. Pearce, 46, also of Tuttle, was sentenced to one year and a day in prison and ordered to forfeit $4 million.

Jason M. Hines, 44, of Caldwell, New Jersey, was sentenced to one year and six months in prison and an additional 18 months of home confinement, and ordered to forfeit $2 million.

The Pearces entered plea agreements of being guilty of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Hines pleaded guilty to conspiring with the Pearces.

The three defendants agreed to pay a total of $17 million in restitution.

Prosecutors accused the Pearces of conspiring with Hines in a scheme that involved generating and then selling unauthorized Avaya Direct International software licenses.

The ADI software licenses were used to unlock features of a popular telephone system used by thousands of companies around the world, prosecutors said.

The ADI software licensing system has since been decommissioned, according to court documents.

New Jersey-based Avaya Holdings Corp. is a multinational business communications company that sold a product called IP Office, a telephone system used by midsize and small businesses in the United States and around the globe.

Prosecutors said Bradley Pearce was an Oklahoma City-based Avaya customer service employee who used his system administrator privileges to generate tens of thousands of ADI software license keys that he sold to Hines and other customers.

Those customers then sold the software license keys to resellers and end users around the world, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said Pearce used a personal laptop and cell phone, a wireless hotspot, a prepaid phone card and a paper ledger at his Avaya workstation to facilitate the scheme and prevent his employer from detecting his activity.

Avaya did not allow the use of personal electronic items.

Pearce kept the items hidden and locked in his work desk or took them home at night, prosecutors said.

He sometimes stole and sold Avaya internal use software license keys while he was at home on medical leave and not working, prosecutors alleged.

The Pearces are accused of using the illegally gained money to buy large quantities of gold bullion and other valuable items.

Prosecutors said Hines, the New Jersey man, was the Pearces’ biggest customer.

Hines purchased millions of dollars' worth of stolen software license keys, which he resold to his own customers, prosecutors said.

He operated Direct Business Services International, a deauthorized Avaya reseller, in New Jersey, according to prosecutors.

Prosecutors said the illegal operation prevented Avaya from making money on its stolen intellectual property and also undercut the global market in Avaya ADI software licenses because the Pearces and Hines sold licenses for significantly below the wholesale price.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma couple sentenced in large-scale phone software scheme ordered to forfeit millions