Feds charge 7 in 'massive' case against Megaupload online piracy ring
Raked in $175M in ill-gotten gains, say authorities (http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9223557/Feds_charge_7_in_massive_case_against_Megaupload_online_piracy_ring?source=CTWNLE_nlt_pm_2012-01-19)

Computerworld - A day after thousands of websites went on strike protesting controversial anti-piracy legislation in the U.S., federal authorities today announced they have busted a pirate ring that allegedly hauled in $175 million.

Seven individuals and two companies were charged with multiple counts of racketeering, copyright infringement, and money laundering, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said in a statement.

The two companies -- Megaupload Limited and Vestor Limited -- operated sites under the Megaupload name, including megaupload.com from servers located in the U.S., Canada and the Netherlands.

According to federal officials, the gang generated $175 million in revenue from advertising sales and premium memberships, and caused more than $500 million in damages to the legitimate copyright holders.


500 mil :shrug: based on what, some assumption that a download = a sale, if the download was not available ?

Basically a big F-off, we can do what we want. If they make something fall under any category for a crime, they can do whatever they want to "resolve the issue".