I for one play CoD2 just about everyday and yes we all know that there are problems with the game and PB, but what you got to remmeber is that all Anti-cheats can and will be bypassed, and some guy's will seek out and use hacks. But what is better? A game with PB or without it? PB will not, and can not detect all hacks(er's), seeing how new hacks are being made all the time.
Now what amazes me is how blindly you believe your friend when he saids that "he has no ideal how that file got into his game dir. and he would never use a hack. Yet the fact is he was using a hack.
Giving him the benifit of dought, and the file got there without him putting it there. He had to realize that overnight he became awhole lot better at playing CoD 2 then he ever was before. The same goes with the people in you "clan" that play with him regually. Yet him or you server Adims never question why and how he became so good overnight. But then again, he could have took a CoD 2 superman pill before he went to sleep the night before
And the kicker in this whole thread is "On your own website, you apologize and reinstate bans on other violations after reviewing them further." hopefully these are not reinstatements for being caught using hacks, and just server rules violations. But if hacks are being reinstated theres the problem, they know that if they get caught all he has to do is say, "I am sorry, kiss someones butt alttile, and he will be reinstated.