TorrentFreak

Just under two years ago authorities in the United States busted one of the most important movie piracy release groups on the planet. In recent months its members have been handed some of the harshest copyright-related sentences on record but immediately after the raids something interesting happened. Instead of running for cover, pirates regrouped and the piracy situation actually got worse.

Another member of the movie piracy release group IMAGiNE has been sentenced to prison. Javier E. Ferrer, known online as bigdaddykane, admitted to camming pre-release movies such as Captain America: The First Avenger and Fright Night, and being involved in the operations of UnleashTheNet, a private torrent site run by IMAGiNE. He was ordered to serve 23 months in a federal prison and pay compensation to the MPAA.

A convicted member of the now-defunct online movie piracy group IMAGiNE has left a public statement before starting his 40-month prison term. Last Friday 53-year-old sysop Gregory Cherwonik of New York was transferred to a detention facility to serve his sentence. In his first public words on the case he criticizes the MPAA and the U.S. Department of Justice, among others.

The former leader of a now-defunct online movie piracy group has been handed a record-breaking prison sentence in the United States today. Jeramiah Perkins was described as the sysop of the BitTorrent release group IMAGiNE, a group that was busted by the FBI in 2011 following an MPAA investigation. Perkins will now serve five years in a federal prison, the longest sentence ever handed out in a case of this type.

Following a tip from the MPAA the feds arrested four members of the prominent BitTorrent release group IMAGiNE in 2011. All pleaded guilty earlier this year and yesterday one of the group’s leaders was sentenced to a 40 month prison term, the largest file-sharing punishment in U.S. history. A fifth member of the IMAGiNE group, not included in the indictment, pleaded guilty on the same day and will be sentenced next year.

After being tipped off by the MPAA the feds arrested four members of the prominent BitTorrent release group IMAGiNE in 2011. All plead guilty earlier this year and yesterday the first two were sentenced to 23 and 30 month prison terms for their role in the capturing, ripping and distribution of copyrighted films. In addition, the members were ordered to jointly pay $449,514 to the MPAA.

After being tipped off by the MPAA the feds arrested four members of the prominent BitTorrent release group IMAGiNE earlier this year, all of which have now plead guilty. Jeramiah Perkins of Portsmouth was the last to admit to copyright infringement charges this week. Along with his co-defendants from the now-defunct piracy release group, Perkins faces up to 5 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.