Default Judgment - $10,000 - Arafat, Mohammed

[nagrastar]

Originally posted on 2012-04-19

Federal Court enters final judgment against Dark Angel end-user Mohammed Arafat, awards $10,000 in statutory penalties and issues a permanent injunction

On April 12, 2012 the United States District Court for the Northern District of California entered final judgment in favor of DISH Network and NagraStar in their litigation against Mohammed Arafat. Arafat was sued by DISH Network and NagraStar for federal claims arising out of his subscription to the Dark Angel services. The Court’s order includes a permanent injunction against Arafat as well as an award of $10,000 in statutory damages (the maximum damages per violation) under the Electronics Communication Privacy Act (“ECPA”). DISH Network and NagraStar continue to investigate and take action against those responsible for trying to circumvent the companies’ security system in order to gain unauthorized access to DISH Network programming.

[nagrastar]

Apology letter signed and sent by Mohammed Arafat

Originally posted on 2012-04-19

Dear NagraStar,
Thank you again for meeting with me. As I had said, it was a foolish decision on my part to
subscribe to Dark Angel, and one that I genuinely regret. This lawsuit has been very stressful
for me and my family. Borrowing money to pay off my debt to NagraStar also was not easy.
But in the end I was not about to go forward with this case. Part of that is my knowing the
evidence that NagraStar has against me, and having decided that I better get out of this case
while it is still an option. The other part is my appreciation for the fact that I harmed NagraStar
by subscribing to Dark Angel, something I did not fully understand until now. For that I am
truly sorry. Please accept my apology and my word that going forward I will not engage in any
form of DISH Network piracy — as this experience has proved, it’s simply not worth it.
Sincerely,
M.A.