Founder NinjaVideo site sentenced to 22 months in prison

As we previously mentioned on FutureofCopyright, the video streaming and download site NinjaVideo.net was seized during the (controversial) operation called “Operation In Our Sites”. As a result of the seizure, five people connected to NinjaVideo were arrested, including site co-founder Hana Beshara. Last September, Beshara pleaded guilty for conspiracy and criminal copyright infringement. Now, Beshara is sentenced to 22 months in prison followed by two years of probation and five hundred hours of community service.

During her trial, Beshara admitted she played a role in founding NinjaVideo throughout February 2008. In addition, she confessed she played a role in negotiating agreements with online advertisers. As a result of the negotiations, the site is said to have generated revenue of around 500 thousand dollars, of which Beshara personally received around 200 thousand dollars. The judge ruled Beshara has to repay the money she made and forfeit financial accounts and computer equipment.  

The other four people who were arrested are still awaiting their trial. Among them is co-founder Matthew Smith who also pleaded guilty of conspiracy and criminal copyright infringement.. Joshua D. Evans, Jeremy L. Andrew and Justin A. Dedemko are also arrested and they all face a maximum of five years in prison and a 250 thousand dollar fine when they are sentenced. However, Beshara’s sentence of 22 months can be seen as an indication that their sentences are likely to be no more than two years.

Read more about NinjaVideo on FutureofCopyright.com:

• Another founder of NinjaVideo pleads guilty to copyright infringement
• Founder NinjaVideo site pleads guilty after ‘Operation In Our Sites’ investigation

Reference: TorrentFreak

By: Karen Groen