34 year old Californian, Jed Frederick Kobles, aka "Raging8" was caught red-handed downloading the XBOX game, "Leisure Suit Larry" in a raid via search warrant in his home by the newly formed Southern California High Tech Task Force. Young Kobles has been charged and has subsequently plead guilty to Grand Theft in the charge of operating an Internet Hub that facilitated the illegal sharing of music videos, games and movies. The article says that Kobles ran the type of file sharing hub that in order to join the group, you had to have access to a large amount of material and be willing to "share" with others. This case is the first of it's kind in California and could wind up costing Kobles up to 3 years in a state prison.
I suppose the lesson being shown to us here is that even so-called private networks can be infiltrated if the operator is careless and let's the wrong person in. Possibly, by showing remorse and pleading guilty this guy will get off with probation. We will know by October 20 as this is the date of the sentencing for the single felony. In the meantime, Raging8 is free on his own recognizance. I would hate to be any of those unnamed conspirators right now, anyone that was a member of UTB Smokinghouse must be sweating bullets.
Source: Music Industry News
