Man involved with BitTorrent (site EliteTorrents) pleads guilty to copyright theft

The latest conviction is the third in a federal crackdown against providers of pirated works to the Elite Torrents P2P network.

An Erie, Pennsylvania, man involved in a BitTorrent peer-to-peer network has pleaded guilty to copyright infringement and faces up to five years in prison and a US$250,000 fine, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said.

Scott R. McCausland, 24, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit copyright infringement and one count of criminal copyright infringement in violation of the Family Entertainment Copyright Act, the DOJ announced Tuesday. He’s scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 12 in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.

McCausland was involved in a BitTorrent peer-to-peer (P-to-P) network previously known as Elite Torrents, the DOJ said. This guilty plea is part of the first U.S. criminal case focusing on a P-to-P network using the BitTorrent technology, the DOJ said.

McCausland’s conviction is the third in a series of convictions arising from Operation D-Elite, a federal crackdown against the first providers of pirated works to the Elite Torrents network. At its prime, the Elite Torrents network attracted more than 133,000 members and allowed the illegal distribution of more than 2 million copies of movies, software, music and games, the DOJ said.

Related Posts

1. Man behind online file-sharing hub pleads guilty to theft
2. Film critic pleads guilty in movie copyright case
3. Elite Torrents fallout continues, defendant #6 pleads guilty
4. EliteTorrents Admin To Serve Jail Time
5. Govt Announces New Guilty Plea in Elite Torrents Bust