Orlando man pleads guilty to selling pirated apps

ATLANTA — Federal prosecutors say two Florida men have pleaded guilty to distributing counterfeit Android mobile applications worth more than $700,000.

Authorities said in a statement that 26-year-old Nicholas Anthony Narbone of Orlando, Fla. appeared in federal court in Atlanta Monday and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit copyright infringement.

Prosecutors say 21-year-old Thomas Allen Dye of Jacksonville, Fla. pleaded guilty to the same charges on March 10.

Investigators say the two men and co-conspirators identified themselves as the Appbucket group. Authorities say they reproduced and distributed more than 1 million copies of applications without permission from the copyright owners of the applications. Prosecutors say the suspects used an alternative online market to sell the applications.

WFTV