Milpitas Residents Charged In Counterfeit Video Game Scheme

From The City of Milpitas: A Milpitas woman, her son, ex-husband, and three other associates of a Santa Clara classic arcade machine company have been charged with making and selling counterfeit video games.

The unauthorized video games put out by CoinOpStore included Galaga, Tank Battalion, and at least five iterations of Pac-Man. All are trademarked to another company.

The defendants are: Chun Chu Chang, 61, of Milpitas, who owned the company: Kingsley Stewart Chang, 29, of Milpitas; Bruce Michael Burton, 39, of Sunnyvale; Kung Teh Chang, 59, of Milpitas; Ryan Loesch, 45, of Folsom; and James Chian Chen, 67, of Arcadia. They have been charged with 14 counts of felony counterfeiting. If convicted, the defendants may face incarceration.

Prosecutor Erica Engin said: “These are thefts of ideas and innovation in Silicon Valley, the home of ideas and innovation.”

Between 2014 and 2017, the defendants sold numerous consoles that each contained between 60 and 3,000 counterfeited games. The classic games in this case are registered trademarks of Bandai Namco Entertainment Inc. – who also has its US headquarters in Santa Clara.

Chun Chu Chang, Kingsley Chang, Burton, and Chen were arrested on July 13, 2017. Loesch turned himself in on July 19, 2017. These defendants are scheduled to enter a plea on August 21, 2017 at 1:30 p.m. in the Hall of Justice, in San Jose. Kung Teh Chang allegedly resides in China and a warrant for his arrest remains outstanding.

The proceeds from the sale of the illegal arcade machines is subject to forfeiture, including over $1.2 million in cash, a 2012 Mercedes Benz, a 2015 BMW, and five residential properties.

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