[Lamplighter]

NY Times
By BEN SISARIO
Published: January 19, 2012

Indictment Charges Megaupload Site With Piracy

According to a grand jury indictment, Megaupload
— one of the most popular “locker” services on the Internet,
which lets users anonymously transfer large files
— generated $175 million in income for its operators through subscription fees and advertising,
while causing $500 million in damages to copyright holders.

Four of the seven people, including the site’s founder Kim Dotcom, born Kim Schmitz,
have been arrested in New Zealand, the Justice Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation
said on Thursday; the three others remain at large.
The seven — who a grand jury indictment calls part of a “Mega Conspiracy” —
have been charged with five counts of copyright infringement and conspiracy, the authorities said.<snip>

The indictment was handed down by a grand jury in Virginia two weeks ago,
but was unsealed on Thursday, and stems from a federal investigation that began two years ago.<snip>

Ira P. Rothken, a lawyer for Megaupload, said in a phone interview on Thursday afternoon
that he had not yet seen the indictment, but he added: “Clearly we have due process concerns.
This was done without a hearing.”