FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE TUESDAY, MAY 31, 2005 WWW.USDOJ.GOV CRM (202) 514-2008 TDD (202) 514-1888 WASHINGTON, D.C.-The fourth and final defendant in Operation Digital Gridlock pleaded guilty today to one count of conspiracy to commit felony criminal copyright infringement, the Justice Department announced today. Bryan F. Tanner, also known as Axeman, 42, of Fulton, New York, entered his plea in front of Judge Paul L. Friedman in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
Tanners conviction is the final conviction resulting from Operation Digital Gridlock, a joint investigation conducted by the FBI, the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Columbia, and the Department of Justices Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section. Operation Digital Gridlock, first announced on Aug. 25, 2004, targeted illegal file-sharing of copyrighted materials over Direct Connect peer-to-peer networks that belonged to an online group of hubs known as The Underground Network. These networks required their users to share large quantities of computer files with other network users, all of whom could download each others shared files. Tanners conviction follows the convictions of Michael Chicoine and William Trowbridge on Jan. 18, 2005 and Nicholas Boel on Apr. 12, 2005 on the same charges. These pleas constituted the first federal felony convictions for copyright piracy using peer-to-peer networks, all within about nine months of the original searches and seizures.
From on or about August 2003 through August 2004, Tanner owned, maintained, operated, and moderated a Direct Connect hub named Silent Echoes. According to court documents, the defendants hub offered movies, computer software, computer games, and music in digital format. During the investigation, government agents downloaded numerous copyrighted works worth approximately $7,371 from Tanners hub. Agents estimated that on any one day, Tanners hub shared an average of 6.72 terabytes of files, which is roughly equivalent in storage space to well over 6,000 movies in digital format.
The maximum penalties for a first-time offender convicted of conspiracy to commit felony criminal copyright infringement in violation of Title 17, United States Code, section 506, and Title 18, United States Code, sections 371 and 2319, are five years in prison, a fine of $250,000, and restitution to the victims. Tanner will be sentenced on Sept. 14, 2005.
These cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Carlin and Sherri Schornstein and by Department of Justice trial attorney Scott L. Garland of the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section. 05-297
Source: US Department of Justice
