SuperDaE, the man who leaked the “Durango” dev kit, has assets seized over an attempted eBay sale.
While Sony has been busy preparing for their PlayStation 4 presentation, an individual renowned for leaking details on the Xbox 720 developer kit was busy dealing with the law. Dan Henry (an alias), aka “SuperDaE”, had his premises searched and hardware confiscated a couple of days ago, partly due to the alleged attempted sale of a “Durango” dev kit on eBay.
Henry tweeted the raid, saying that that an FBI agent was working with West Australia police officers from the Computer Crime Squad.
Police raided me.— Dan (@superDaE) February 19, 2013
@benpeace91 Because its a laughing matter to have an FBI agent and 7-8 POLICE in your house.— Dan (@superDaE) February 19, 2013
According to a copy of the search warrant, the officers were tasked with seizing computer hardware, media, “any and all gaming consoles”, and Henry’s mobile phone. The warrant also suggests that the raid was triggered by Henry’s attempt to sell his Durango dev kit, as one of the search criteria stated that police were to search “any record…related to Microsoft Corporation and any partner organization, PayPal and eBay”.
West Australia police confirmed the raid to The Verge, verifying that the warrant was genuine but neglecting to comment further on the case. “If he wants to tell the world that Police have been investigating him over stolen property that is his choice,” they said.
In a recent interview with Gizmodo, however, Henry further admitted that he was involved in breaching the systems of several other games companies for information, including Valve, which would explain why his hardware was seized in the raid.
Henry also revealed in the interview that the FBI was seeking to extradite him. “They can’t extradite me straight up but they’re looking for those loopholes to do it,” he said. If charged, Henry could face charges of corporate espionage, dissemination of confidential documents, and misuse of a computer and/or carrier service.
Henry gained notoriety when he leaked photos of Durango as part of an online sale. It was later removed as a hoax when Henry asked for the coffee-spitting price of $10,000; however, several other developers later confirmed that the images he posted were indeed accurate. Henry followed up the leak by presenting Kotaku with information from more than twenty Xbox 720 white papers, which detailed specifications such as integrated Kinect, storage capacity, controller design, and the console’s proposed internal hardware.
Microsoft had no information to share in regards to the raid.
Source: The Tech Game via The Verge, Gizmodo
