Megaupload shut down

[Turd Ferguson]

http://torrentfreak.com/megaupload-shut-down-120119/

MegaUpload, one of the largest file-sharing sites on the Internet has been shut down by federal prosecutors in Virginia. The site’s founder Kim Dotcom and three others were arrested by the police in New Zealand on request of US authorities.MegaVideo, the streaming site belonging to same company and 16 other domains connected to the Mega company were seized as well.

An indictment unsealed today by the Department of Justice claims MegaUpload has caused the entertainment industries more than $500 million in lost revenue and generated $175 million “in criminal proceeds.”

In addition to MegaUpload founder Kim Dotcom, another six alleged members of the Mega “conspiracy” were charged in the indictment:

• Finn Batato, 38, a citizen and resident of Germany, who is the chief marketing officer;
• Julius Bencko, 35, a citizen and resident of Slovakia, who is the graphic designer;
• Sven Echternach, 39, a citizen and resident of Germany, who is the head of business development;
• Mathias Ortmann, 40, a citizen of Germany and resident of both Germany and Hong Kong, who is the chief technical officer, co-founder and director;
• Andrus Nomm, 32, a citizen of Estonia and resident of both Turkey and Estonia, who is a software programmer and head of the development software division;
• Bram van der Kolk, aka Bramos, 29, a Dutch citizen and resident of both the Netherlands and New Zealand, who oversees programming and the underlying network structure for the Mega websites.

Dotcom, Batato, Ortmann and van der Kolk were arrested today in Auckland, New Zealand, by New Zealand authorities

Just a few weeks ago MegaUpload founder Kim Dotcom told TorrentFreak that his Mega ventures have nothing to worry about, as they operate within the rules of the law.

“Mega has nothing to fear. Our business is legitimate and protected by the DMCA and similar laws around the world. We work with the best lawyers and play by the rules. We take our legal obligations seriously. Mega’s war chest is full and we have strong supporters backing us,” Dotcom said.

Breaking story, more to come.

According to the Department of Justice, the individuals named above face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on the charge of conspiracy to commit racketeering, five years in prison on the charge of conspiracy to commit copyright infringement, 20 years in prison on the charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering and five years in prison on each of the substantive charges of criminal copyright infringement.

I could kill a few people and get a lighter sentence than that......

 

[dijm8]

never used that one so dosent bother me

 

[Jecs]

god fkn dammit. i used them!

 

[Dr HaxZaw]

amazing what a few rich hollywood people can do with all their money in america... and they reckon their system is democratic lol

 

[discomat]

have you heard about the retaliation from Anonymous? Brutal. Websites being shut down left, right and centre right now!

 

[nathanVY]

What an absolute joke of a sentence hahahahahah. Shouldn't the the US's "Federal Police" be out catching people that actually endager peoples lives? OH WAIT - They'd rather protect their money.

 

[MikeCuzzy]

http://torrentfreak.com/megaupload-shut-down-120119/

Wonder how long that site's got

Also wonder why they decided to arrest and take everyone out, rather than do the Mininova thing and get them to remove all the illegal/possibly illegal data. You're right though, you could brutally murder someone and get like 18-25 years or something, but you provide people with means to share files over the internet - life imprisonment...

 

[Decicrate]

What an absolute joke of a sentence hahahahahah. Shouldn't the the US's "Federal Police" be out catching people that actually endager peoples lives? OH WAIT - They'd rather protect their money.

Any money that they are protecting is not theirs, its the Chinese that owns the money in the USA now.

 

[wraith]

The reason it's been done like this is to send a message to others about "piracy"

 

[ari666]

so.. they are protecting the chinease?