The Internet is full of David vs Goliath stories. But when Sony allegedly decided to go after George Hotz for hacking the PlayStation 3, the Internet wept and donated to help fight his legal battles.
But, everything Hotz had said was not entirely true, specifically that he never had a PSN account. Unfortunately, it seems like many people bought into his story and donated to his cause. But from the releases from the Sony legal team, he never had a PSN ID and that he has also fled to South America. The statements below come from vghq.net, Sony filed in court that:
Though the evidence establishing personal jurisdiction is already overwhelming, SCEA has little doubt that there is much more. However, over the last several weeks. Hotz has engaged in a campaign to thwart jurisdictional discovery at every turn –regardless of whether the Court has ordered such discovery or not. Most seriously, after Magistrate Judge Spero ordered an inspection of Hotz’s devices and ordered Hotz to appear at a deposition in California, SCEA learned that Hotz had deliberately removed integral components of his impounded hard drives prior to delivering them to a third party neutral and that Hotz is now in South America, an excuse for why he will not immediately provide the components of his hard drives as requested by the neutral. Hotz’s attempts to dodge this Court’s authority raise very serious questions.
There was also this information about his PSN ID
On January 12, 2011, Hotz submitted a declaration to the Court (Docket No. 19-1) in which he made unequivocal statements on a number of topics. However, when it came to discussing the PSN account, Hotz equivocated, stating: “To the best of my knowledge and belief, I do not have a PlayStation Network account.” Hotz also provided interrogatory responses that he has refused to verify, stating that he has not accessed the PSN. Bricker Decl. 4.Hotz identified four PS3 Systems in his possession. Bricker Decl., 4, Exh. C. He explained that he had purchased one of these consoles new in February 2010 and provided the serial number for that console. Id. SCEA used that serial number to determine that on February 25, 2010, Hotz purchased the PS3 System at a Gamestop store just miles from his home. Law Decl., 6; Bricker Decl., 6, Exh. E. SCEA’s records show that the same PS3 System was used on March 10, 2010 to create a PSN account under the user name “blickmanic.” Law Decl., 6, Exh. A. The IP address associated with the registration is located in Glen Rock, New Jersey, where Hotz lives.
We need to make it clear that Sony was/still is pursuing George Hotz, but his entire story was not exactly true. Unfortunately at this point it is hard to separate the truth vs what George Hotz has fabricated. He even went as far to create a rap aimed at Sony for the lawsuit that also fueled donations to his fight.
What is ahead for Hotz is unknown, now that he is in South America, he may be too far away for Sony to continue its fight. No matter what happens, the information that he puts forward now must be taken with a grain of salt as his previous statements were not entirely true.
[Update] An odd change of events has taken place and it turns out Sony has their facts mixed up. Hotz is on vacation in South America and has turned over the required information.
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