How Sega And Police Raids Interrupted A Video Game Preservation Auction - Kotaku

"They were like worker bees, taking this, this and they start putting it into evidence bags. Khan describes the police raid on his home, where officers systematically confiscated items related to the SEGA hardware transaction, treating the discovery as evidence in what appeared to be a coordinated enforcement action."

"A private investigator, working for the firm FUSION 85, Nintendo's go-to on matters of IP infringement and ROM sites, posed as the father to an autistic video game enthusiast on Facebook Marketplace to contact Khan. This undercover approach preceded the police raid and suggested coordinated corporate enforcement against the hardware sale."

"Investigation revealed a contractor hired to dispose of SEGA's hardware mistakenly sent the wrong email, suggesting that it was corporate negligence, not criminal intent, that led to the misplaced bounty of development kits and prototypes."

Darius Khan, a junk dealer, discovered SEGA hardware at a scrap yard and sold it to the Video Game Preservation Museum for over £60,000. Police raided his home after a private investigator, posing as a concerned parent on Facebook Marketplace, reported the transaction. The investigator worked for FUSION 85, a firm hired by Nintendo to combat IP infringement. Khan was interrogated for eight hours and threatened with charges including theft and money laundering, though never formally charged. Investigation revealed a contractor hired to dispose of SEGA's hardware sent the wrong email, indicating corporate negligence rather than criminal activity by Khan.

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