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Tea Party leader arrested on piracy charges

South Carolina man is accused of selling pirated versions of Microsoft Office, Windows, Photoshop, and Rosetta Stone.

Elinor Mills Former Staff Writer
Elinor Mills covers Internet security and privacy. She joined CNET News in 2005 after working as a foreign correspondent for Reuters in Portugal and writing for The Industry Standard, the IDG News Service and the Associated Press.
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A cached version of the Grand Strand Tea Party home page. The site was inaccessible today.
A cached version of the Grand Strand Tea Party home page. The site was inaccessible today.

A leader of a South Carolina Tea Party group has been arrested for allegedly selling pirated software.

Anthony Trinca, 61, is accused of selling versions of Microsoft Office, Windows, Adobe Photoshop, and Rosetta Stone language programs that were counterfeit, news site TG Daily reported today, one of several outlets to write about it. Trinca, president of the Grand Strand Tea Party, was arrested on Tuesday after someone to whom he allegedly sold software resold some of it and refused to give a refund when a buyer insisted it was pirated, according to the police report.

He and his 23-year-old son, Michael, were both charged with unauthorized use or trafficking in counterfeit trademarks and were released on $5,000 bond, a jail representative said.

This is part of the police report.
This is part of the police report.
Updated July 28 at 10:25 a.m. PT to correct bond amount and include arrest report.