Jonathan Lee Riches tries to get in on the MDY v. Blizzard case

Sometimes, a little bit of crazy can really make your day. Today’s crazy comes courtesy of Jonathan Lee Riches, a man incarcerated in South Carolina for wire fraud who has filed an amicus brief motion in the MDY Industries v. Blizzard case. He wants the judge and court to know that his whole crime spree wasn’t his fault – it was Blizzard’s. Blizzard’s World of Warcraft was just too addicting and inviting, and he committed wire fraud just so he could keep playing WoW and buying expansion packs. Virtually Blind obtained a copy of Riches’ handwritten motion, as seen at the right.

Don’t take Riches’ allegations too seriously. In April, 2008, CVG reported that Riches asked for a temporary restraining order against Take-Two and Rockstar Games, because Grand Theft Auto IV was totally the reason why he committed wire fraud. The virtual crime sprees in the game just made real-life crime sprees seem too appealing to Riches.

The Register has an impressive list of some of the other lawsuits filed by Jonathan Lee Riches, some of the most colorful ones include (in nearly alphabetical order):

• Amazon.com
• Ben Affleck
• Cyndi Lauper
• Dick Clark’s New Year Rockin’ Eve 2008
• eBay
• FEMA
• Guantanamo Bay
• International Olympic Committee
• Jennifer Lopez
• Dr. Jack Kevorkian
• McDonald’s
• Norwegian Cruise Lines
• Barack Obama
• Rush Limbaugh
• Starbucks Coffee
• Thanksgiving (the holiday)
• US Postal Service
• Visa
• Reese Witherspoon
• Yahoo!

Riches is in jail until 2012. I kind of hope that he finds “X” and “Z” companies/items/people to file motions against and help round out the list before then. Maybe he can sue Nintendo or the Wii for tennis elbow.

Read [Virtually Blind] Via [The Register] Also Read [CVG] Via [FOX News]