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Operation Fastlink is a coordination of four separate, simultaneous undercover investigations by the
Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...
(FBI) Cyber Division, the Department of Justice, the Computer Crimes and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) of the Criminal Division and
Interpol The International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL (abbreviated as ICPO–INTERPOL), commonly known as Interpol ( , ; stylized in allcaps), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and crime cont ...
. The four different investigations have not been publicly enumerated, but the
U.S. Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of federal laws and the administration of justice. It is equi ...
has said in at least one press release that "Operation Higher Education" is the largest component, with participation from twelve nations. Mention has also been made of an investigation into pre-release music groups led by FBI agents from the Washington Field Office. As of March 6, 2009, the FBI states that Operation Fastlink has yielded 60 convictions. The raids occurred in similar fashion to those from Operation Buccaneer and Operation Site Down. Other somewhat-related law enforcement actions include Operation Gridlock and Operation D-Elite. The operation led to the successful busts of nearly 100 individuals involved in illegal copying of copyrighted software, and alterations thereof, worldwide. There were around 120 total searches executed in 27 American states and in 10 foreign countries. Foreign searches were conducted in Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Israel, the Netherlands, Singapore, Sweden, as well as the United Kingdom. Among the prolific
warez Warez refers to pirated software and other copyrighted digital media—such as video games, movies, music, and e-books—illegally distributed online, often after bypassing digital rights management (DRM). The term, derived from “software wa ...
release groups targeted by Fastlink were Fairlight, Kalisto,
Echelon Echelon may refer to: * A level formation ** A level or rank in an organization, profession, or society ** A military sub-subunit smaller than a company but larger than a platoon ** Echelon formation, a step-like arrangement of units * ECHELO ...
,
Class Class, Classes, or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used d ...
, and DEViANCE—all of which specialized in spreading unlicensed copies of computer and console video games. Recent convictions have included members of music release groups Apocalypse Production Crew and Chromance.


Cases

# Jathan Desir (known as "jd333"), a
University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...
student of
Iowa City, Iowa Iowa City is the largest city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. At the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the population was 74,828, making it the state's List of cities in Iowa, fifth-most populous c ...
, pleaded guilty on December 22, 2004 to charges related to his role and was sentenced to one year's probation, $5,000 fine, and $300 CVF assessment, which was completed in 2010. The case was 4:04-cr-00336 from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa. # Abell (known as "joebob") pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit copyright infringement on February 28, 2005. He was sentenced to 15 months in prison, 400 hours of community service and two years' probation. The case is 5:04-cr-00681 from the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas. # Lai (known as "doplgnger") pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement on January 6, 2006 related to his administering several warez FTP sites. He was sentenced on June 18, 2007 to three years of probation, the first six months of which he must serve confined to his home. He was also ordered to pay a fine in the amount of $7,200 and to perform 120 hours of community service. The case is 3:06-cr-00004 from the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut. # Kleinberg (known as "basilisk") pleaded guilty on March 8, 2005 and faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. Sentencing was originally scheduled for July 1, 2005, but has been delayed to January 6, 2006. He admitted to being a supplier for Fairlight and Kalisto while being Executive Editor of Game Over Online Magazine. The case is 3:05-cr-00049 from the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut. Kleinberg eventually received a reduced sentence of 3 years' probation, 200 hours of community service and was ordered to pay a $15,000 fine. # Jeffrey Lerman (known as "ht"), a
University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD i ...
student from
Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...
, New York, pleaded guilty on March 8, 2005 and was sentenced to six months of
house arrest House arrest (also called home confinement, or nowadays electronic monitoring) is a legal measure where a person is required to remain at their residence under supervision, typically as an alternative to imprisonment. The person is confined b ...
, three years' probation, and a $7,500 fine. Lerman repackaged and restructured PlayStation 2 games, originally distributed on DVDs, for redistribution on CDs for Kalisto. The case is 3:05-cr-00050 from the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut. # Albert Bryndza, of Flushing, New York, pleaded guilty on March 8, 2005, was sentenced to three years' probation and ordered to pay a fine of $7,500. The case is 3:05-cr-00051 from the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut. # Weiss pleaded guilty on September 12, 2005 to criminal copyright infringement. Sentenced on January 12, 2006 to three years' probation, pay $20,914 in restitution, and complete 500 hours of community service. 1:05-cr-00577 from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. # Ringe was indicted for criminal copyright infringement on September 13, 2005. Unknown case from the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona. # Christopher M. Streit was originally indicted on a criminal copyright infringement charge in the Southern District of Iowa. On March 10, 2005, his case was transferred to the Eastern District of North Carolina. He pleaded guilty on April 11, 2005 and was sentenced to five years' probation, 180 days of home confinement, and imposed a $500 fine on September 6, 2005. The case is 5:05-cr-00066 from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina. # Joseph J. Huss Jr., pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy and criminal copyright infringement on July 28, 2005. He was sentenced to five years' probation, a $200 special assessment, and a $5,000 fine for each of the counts on November 10, 2005. The case is 2:05-cr-00002 from U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. # Timothy Mentzer's three criminal copyright infringement charges were transferred from the Southern District of Iowa. He pleaded guilty on August 3, 2005. He was scheduled to be sentenced June 19, 2006. The case is 2:05-cr-00002 from U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. # George Scott Hayes, of Danville, Virginia, pleaded guilty on February 13, 2006 to one count of criminal copyright infringement related to his involvement in music release group "Chromance." Sentencing was scheduled for May 19, 2006. The case is 1:06-cr-00032 from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. # Derek A. Borchardt (known as 'Mickey'), of Charlotte, North Carolina; Ramiesh Yogarada, 18, of Winston-Salem, North Carolina; Matthew B. Howard, of Longmont, Colorado; and Aaron O. Jones, of Hillsboro, Oregon each pleaded guilty on February 28, 2006 to one count of conspiracy to commit copyright infringement for their involvement in the music release group Apocalypse Production Crew. Sentencing was scheduled for May 19, 2006. The case is 1:06-cr-00041 from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. # Sergey Ribiakost, of Bardonia, New York, pleaded guilty on April 17, 2007 to one count of conspiracy to commit copyright infringement for his involvement with the music release group Apocalypse Production Crew. On August 9, 2007, Ribiakost was sentenced to two years probation and a fine of $3000. The case is 1:06-cr-00373 from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia # Bryan Thomas Black, of Waterloo, Illinois pleaded guilty on March 6, 2009 to one count of conspiracy to commit criminal infringement of a copyright for his involvement in a multinational software infringement organization. On August 18, 2009, Black was sentenced to 3 years of probation. All cases and case documents can be found on CourtListener.


See also

* Operation Buccaneer * Operation D-Elite * Operation Site Down


References


External links


Justice Department Announces International Internet Piracy Sweep
US DoJ press release announcing operation (April 22, 2004)

US DoJ press release on Desir plea (December 22, 2004)
Officials unseal piracy records
– about Jathan Desir, first person prosecuted following the raid (December 24, 2004)

US DoJ press release on Kleinberg, Lerman, and Bryndzda guilty pleas (March 8, 2005)

US DoJ press release on Borchardt, Howard, Jones, and Hayes guilty pleas (February 28, 2006)

US DoJ press release on Gomez and Ribiakost guilty pleas (April 20, 2007)

US DoJ press release on Eaves guilty plea (May 14, 2007) {{DEFAULTSORT:Fastlink, Operation 2004 in American law Copyright enforcement Federal Bureau of Investigation operations Fastlink