Extradited Warez Leader Pleads Guilty, Faces 10 Years in Prison
Hew Raymond Griffiths, the leader of the notorious warez group ‘DrinkorDie’ has plead guilty to “conspiracy to commit copyright infringement” and “criminal copyright infringement”. Griffiths, who already spend 3 years in an Australian prison fighting his extradition to the US, now faces 10 years in prison & a $500,000 fine.
Hew Raymond Griffiths, a 44 year old British national and previous resident of Australia spent 3 years in an Australian detention center fighting his extradition to the US. Earlier this year Griffiths, who never visited the US in his entire life, lost this battle in the Australian courts which made him the first foreigner to be extradited to the US to face charges of copyright infringement.
In 1999 Griffiths openly admitted that he was leading DrinkOrDie’s daily operations and that he was in control of more than 20 of the top warez servers worldwide. Back then Griffiths claimed that he would never be caught, a statement he might regret now.
In 2001 DoD was busted during US Customs co-ordinated raids as part of Operation Buccaneer, Griffiths, also known under the nickname “Bandito”, was identified as one of DoD’s leaders.
Last February Griffiths was arraigned before a U.S. District Court to face charges of conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement and one count of actual criminal copyright infringement. Yesterday U.S. Attorney Chuck Rosenberg for the Eastern District of Virginia announced that Griffiths has agreed to plead guilty to both counts.
