A group of three men have admitted distributing music illegally and another man pleaded guilty to one count of criminal copyright
infringement.
Matthew Howard of Colorado, Aaron Jones of Oregon,
Derek Borchardt of North Carolina,
and
George Hayes of Virginia were members of piracy groups accused of
leaking music to the internet before the CDs even appeared in shops. Each could be sentenced to five years
in prison and be forced to pay a $250,000 fine.
US attorney Paul McNulty said:
"By stealing the creative product of talented people, this form of piracy deprives artists of the rewards they deserve
.
If left unchecked, such crime would drain the incentive to create that enriches our lives.
"
The Department of Justice warned these were the first arrests of
pre-release online music pirates as part of a crackdown called
Operation FastLink.
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