Four Americans, three people
from New York and one from Washington state, have pleaded guilty for their roles in an online piracy ring.
According to the authorities the four men illegally distributed tens of
thousands of copyrighted materials through the Internet:
 Federal prosecutors said Thursday the guilty
pleas are part of a national probe into pirated video games, movies, music
files and computer software. Some of the file servers were located at the
State University of New York at Albany, authorities said.
"The magnitude of this problem is serious and can't be
underestimated," U.S. Attorney Kevin O'Connor said. "Stealing the
intellectual property of others is no different from any other form of
thievery."
Prosecutors said three of the defendants were actively involved in
the "warez" scene, in which copyright-protected material is "cracked" and
made available illegally through the Internet. They face up to five years
in prison if convicted.
The fourth defendant helped maintain the SUNY-Albany servers, and
if convicted faces a one-year maximum sentence.
The prosecutions stem from Operation Safehaven, a 15-month
investigation that in April resulted in the seizure of thousands of
pirated CDs and DVDs and dozens of computers and
servers. |
According to the article the investigation is continuing, and authorities say
they expect to charges others in the scheme.
Source: Yahoo! News
