A judge has ruled that Florida resident Jhonny Perez must pay $150,000 in damages and $66,869 in attorney fees to Grand Theft Auto maker Rockstar Games' parent company Take-Two Interactive for creating and sharing a paid cheating tool for GTA Online.

Perez's program, "Elusive," allowed players to access cheats such as infinite money. The creator was ruled to have violated Take-Two's copyright, as well as disrupting the gameplay balance for other players, affecting the in-game purchasing model, and impacting negatively on users' gaming experience.

According to Take-Two, the cheat program caused estimated damages of $500,000. "Elusive" was sold to gamers for between $10 and $30, depending on the version.

"Take-Two has been irreparably harmed by Mr. Perez’s infringing conduct and will continue to be harmed unless enjoined,” US District Court Judge Kevin Castel wrote in the court findings. “Mr. Perez’s Elusive program creates new features and elements in Grand Theft Auto which can be used to harm legitimate players, causing Take-Two to lose control over its carefully balanced plan for how its video game is designed to be played.”

Perez has also been issued a permanent injunction that bans him from making any cheats or hacks based on Take-Two’s games.

Read about the case in further depth over at Engadget.