The popular direct download file sharing company was raided today by the federal government just days after sites went black in order to protest the SOPA/PIPA bills that are meant to hinder piracy of copyrighted material.
Seven people have been charged with what a grand jury calls “Mega-Conspiracy” including the founder, Kim Dotcom. Four of the seven have been caught and arrested while the other three remain at large. The total list of charges includes: racketeering conspiracy, conspiring to commit copyright infringement, conspiring to commit money laundering and two counts of criminal copyright infringement.
The Department of Justice claims that the site has caused over $500 million worth of damages to copyright holders and is said to have generated $175 million in revenue for the operators of the site.
The site has gained increasing traffic through recent years with the help of celebrity endorsements by people such as Kanye West, Kim Kardashian, and Swizz Beats, who was named CEO if the company however, this information remains unclear at this time.
Government officials are calling this one of the largest internet pirate crackdowns to date and “among the largest criminal copyright cases ever brought by the United States.”
Check back for more information as it surfaces.
