James Delahunty
15 May 2007 18:56
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has revealed that its crackdown on online piracy has reached its 50th felony conviction. Operation FastLink is an on-going investigation that targets warez groups responsible for bringing pirated movies, music, software and games to the Internet often before their official release. Christopher E. Eaves, 31, of Iowa Park, Texas pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit copyright infringement for his involvement in "Apocalypse Crew" (aPC).
According to the DOJ, APC thrived to bring music to the Internet before it release date. Eaves is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 10. He faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The conviction "represents a milestone never before achieved in any online piracy prosecution," Alice Fisher, assistant attorney general in the DOJ's criminal division, said in a statement.
Operation Fastlink has resulted in more than 120 search warrants executed across 12 countries, confiscation of hundreds of computers and other equipment and the removal of approximately $50 million worth of pirated games, software, music and movies from distribution channels.
Source:
Yahoo