Yes, and if you were proven to have sold that car to be used as a getaway vehicle you would be looking at accessory charges in a lot of states.
That's the problem they face. They are not selling (if they are indeed selling - the article didn't specify, I'm just supposing that's what they did) a "technical document" or some other general-interest piece on technology. They usually advertise it as "Free Satellite TV for $100" or "Satellite Descrambler - Watch Free" or something like that.
It'd be like you advertising your car as "Great Getaway Car - No VIN, No Registration." Especially if someone actually buys it and uses it for that purpose.
Actually, if you have the time and inclination it'd be interesting if you placed an ad like that and reported the results.
From OTHER articles, the story goes like this. Company A develops a new very secure card. Uncle B takes some of this very confidential material home ton continue working on it (legitimately takes it home, apparently). The 19 year old (Mr. D) copies the material from his uncle's desk, and emails copies to internet chatrooms for hacking. The material was clearly labeled as CONFIDENTIAL and Proprietary. The others involved then received and distributed this new SmartCard information packet. They are screwed.