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Nineteen accused of digital piracy |
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Friday, 03 February 2006 |
Operation Site Down continues to pay dividends for the U.S. Department of Justice.
Earlier this week, 19 people were indicted by a federal grand jury in Chicago on numerous counts related to the pirating and trafficking of stolen software, games and movies, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois announced on Wednesday. The investigation into the illegal activities, dubbed Operation Jolly Roger, was part of the national crackdown on warez pirates announced last summer following undercover operations in Charlotte, Chicago and San Jose and known as Operation Site Down.
The nineteen people are accused of taking part in a warez group known as RiSCISO, a name created from a combination of the moniker Rise in Superior Couriering (RiSC) and the ISO standard format that is used to store files on compact discs. All nineteen defendants were charged with one count of conspiracy to commit copyright infringement and fifteen of the group also were accused of copyright infringement. In total, the group is charged with pirating software, games and movies worth more than $6.5 million.
Four other defendants were also indicted on piracy charges on July 13 in the Northern District of California as a result of the Operation Site Down investigation. In total, the crackdown resulted in the execution of more than 90 search warrants on June 29. In 2001, three coordinated operations resulted in arrests of the members of the DrinkorDie warez scene and some members of RiSCISO. A separate government action pursued online fraudsters and credit-card swapping sites in 2003, making over 125 arrests.
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