Andrus Nõmm
Andrus Nõmm “was aware that copyright-infringing content was stored” on site, according to U.S. prosecutors. The Estonian programmer was today sentenced to a year and one day in prison after pleading guilty to felony copyright infringement.
He is one of the defendants in the federal criminal case against Megaupload, and was first arrested in 2012 in the Netherlands where he fought extradition. He was taken into custody in Alexandria, Virginia, earlier this month, where he appeared before a judge.
Ars Technica’s Cyrus Farivar previously reported on the arrest and its implications, and today reports on the sentencing at Ars Technica.
American criminal charges against the six co-defendants related to Megaupload, including Kim Dotcom, still remain pending. All of the Megaupload defendants (most notably founder Kim Dotcom) have been battling extradition and fighting the government’s case from outside US borders.
“This conviction is a significant step forward in the largest criminal copyright case in U.S. history,” Assistant Attorney General Caldwell said in the Department of Justice statement released today. “The Mega conspirators are charged with massive worldwide online piracy of movies, music and other copyrighted U.S. works. We intend to see to it that all those responsible are held accountable for illegally enriching themselves by stealing the creative work of U.S. artists and creators.”
Related: Ars also profiled Dotcom’s extradition efforts last month.