Shortly after it was revealed that Swizz is the CEO, the Feds shut down the cloud storage site.
Shortly after it was revealed that Swizz Beatz is CEO of Megaupload, the cloud storage site has been closed down by federal prosecutors.
According to the Associated Press, feds in Virginia have shuttered the cyberlocker site, charging its founder Kim Dotcom and others with violating piracy laws. The indictment claims that the site has costed "copyright holders more than $500 million in lost revenue from pirated films and other content."
In December, Swizz helped recruit artists such as Kanye West and Diddy to appear in a video promoting the site, which was once the 13th most trafficked site in the world.
The government said the site facilitated copyright infringement of movies “often before their theatrical release, music, television programs, electronic books, and business and entertainment software on a massive scale.” The government said Megaupload’s “estimated harm” to copyright holders was “well in excess of $500 million.”
The indictment came as the Justice Department said it seized 18 domains in all connected to Megaupload. The agency said it executed more than 20 search warrants in the United States and eight countries, seizing $50 million in assets.
Megaupload, which charges its 150 million members for its file-sharing service, was on the recording and movie industries most-hated lists, often being accusing of facilitating wanton infringement of their members’ copyrights. The indictment claims it induced users to upload copyrighted works for others to download, that it often failed to comply with removal notices from rights holders.
The money laundering charges are connected to allegations Megaupload paid users for uploading infringing content.
Others indicted include:
*Finn Batato, 38, a citizen and resident of Germany, chief marketing officer.
*Julius Bencko, 35, a citizen and resident of Slovakia, graphic designer.
*Sven Echternach, 39, a citizen and resident of Germany, head of business development.
*Mathias Ortmann, 40, a citizen of Germany and resident of both Germany and Hong Kong, chief technical officer co-founder and director.
*Andrus Nomm, 32, a citizen of Estonia and resident of both Turkey and Estonia, software programmer.
*Bram van der Kolk, aka Bramos, 29, a Dutch citizen and resident of both the Netherlands and New Zealand, programmer.
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