Court Sentences Warez Site Operator To 30 Months

David M. Fish (right), 26, of Woodbury, Connecticut was given 30 months in prison on charges of criminal copyright infringement and circumvention. Fish was also sentenced by U.S. District Judge Ronald M. Whyte to three year probation after he’ll be released from prison, a mandatory special assessment of $500, and the confiscation of computer and other tools that he used in his illegal activities.

This is the “fruit” of Operation Copycat, which brings together the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's Office and is directed against online warez groups that distribute pirated content. So far the operation sealed 40 convictions and represent just a component of a larger federal crackdown against illegal sharing of copyrighted materials over the Internet.

The official release of the FBI says that:

On Feb. 27, 2006, Fish pleaded guilty to five counts in federal court in San Jose, including four counts in the Northern District of California case for conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement; distribution of technology primarily designed to circumvent encryption technology protecting a right of a copyright owner and aiding and abetting; circumventing a technological measure that protects a copyright work and aiding and abetting; copyright infringement by electronic means and aiding and abetting. On the same day, Fish also pleaded guilty to one count of criminal infringement of a copyright in the Southern District of Iowa. The two cases involved separate investigations and conduct in both jurisdictions. The charges were consolidated and prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California.

Fish also pleaded guilty to one count of criminal infringement of a copyright in the Southern District of Iowa, the two cases being conducted and put on trial in California.

Fish was behind building, managing, operating, and scripting warez sites in 2003, 2004, and 2005 and at the same time supplied equipment, brokering, and encoding.

Prosecutors claim Fish's capture is part of the largest and most successful worldwide criminal enforcement actions ever engaged against organized piracy. It follows two operations that, collectively, have led to 108 felony convictions; over 200 search warrants executed in 15 countries; the forfeit of hundreds of computers and illegal online distribution hubs; and the confiscation of more than $100 million worth of pirated software, games, movies, and music from illicit distribution channel.