A member of the notorious Internet piracy group ‘IMAGiNE’ has been sentenced to prison for his role in the group’s activities.
Javier E. Ferrer, 41, of New Port Richey, Florida, was sentenced to serve 23 months in prison by Senior U.S. District Judge Henry C. Morgan in the Eastern District of Virginia.
Ferrer pleaded guilty on November 29, 2012, to one count of conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement. He was also sentenced to serve three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $15,000 in restitution.
The IMAGiNE Group was an organized online piracy ring that sought to become the premier group to first release Internet copies of movies only showing in theaters. The group’s activities caused significant financial losses to the film industry.
Ferrer actively participated in the group’s illegal efforts to film copyrighted motion pictures currently showing in theaters. He and his co-conspirators used receivers and recording devices to secretly capture audio sound tracks of copyrighted movies playing in movie theaters.
The investigation of the case was conducted by agents with the HIS Washington, D.C., Field Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert J. Krask of the Eastern District of Virginia and Senior Counsel John H. Zacharia of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) are prosecuting the case.
This case is part of efforts being undertaken by the Department of Justice Task Force on Intellectual Property (IP Task Force) to stop the theft of intellectual property. The task force is working to protect the health and safety of American consumers and safeguard the nation’s economic security.
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Key Facts
- State: Virginia
- Category: Cybercrime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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