Website owners plead guilty to copyright violations

The top two administrators of the online video site NinjaVideo.net pleaded guilty on Tuesday to charges they conspired to provide access to high-quality, illegal downloads of copyrighted movies and TV shows.

Joshua David Evans, 34, of North Bend, Wash., and Jeremy Lynn Andrew, 33, of Eugene, Ore., were among five co-conspirators indicted in September for their roles in the site, which was shut down by a cross-agency federal investigation lead by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Justice Department.

Evans pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and one count of criminal copyright infringement related to his role in the release of the movie “Iron Man 2” before it opened in theaters. He faces a maximum of five years in prison on the conspiracy count along with a $250,000 fine. His sentencing is scheduled for January 27.

Andrew pleaded guilty to a single count of conspiracy. He also faces a maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine; his sentencing is scheduled for February 3.

The sting is part of the Obama administration's ongoing crackdown on online piracy and copyright infringement. The entertainment industry has been lobbying furiously on behalf of an upcoming bill that would expand the government's power to target copyright infringers. The bill is on hold in the Senate after clearing the Commerce Committee and is expected to be unveiled in the House in the coming days.

According to court documents Evans was an uploader responsible for locating illegal content on the Internet and uploading it to servers used by the website, some of which were located in Virginia. Andrew was known as the head of security, was one of the administrators of the website, and served as a moderator of the site's message boards.  

According to court documents the site generated roughly a half million dollars in income from advertising and visitor donations; Evans admitted to getting $26,660 of that money while Andrew admitted that he received $5,250. Both defendants agreed to pay restitution in those amounts.

Co-defendants Matthew David Howard Smith and Hana Amal Beshara pleaded guilty in September and will be sentenced in December and January respectively. An arrest warrant has been issued for the remaining co-defendant, Zoi Mertzanis of Greece.