Megaupload admins jailed after 11-year legal war

After 11 years of legal litigation and court battles, a duo of admins from Megaupload have been sentenced to prison in New Zealand.

Mathias Ortmann and Bram van der Kolk, two admins from Megaupload have been sentenced to prison after an 11-year legal battle. Ortmann has been given two years and seven months, while van der Kolk was given a month less.

They pleaded guilty to being part of a criminal organization, as well as racketeering and piracy.

Megaupload was a file-sharing site that was run by Kim Dotcom and was quickly taken over by piracy. Forums and other websites would often use it as an alternative to torrenting files.

The legal battle over Megaupload started in 2012 after the US Department of Justice swooped in and seized around $42 million worth of assets, along with the domains.

Founder Kim Dotcom has remained in New Zealand fighting off extradition to the US, who is currently charged with copyright infringement, money laundering, racketeering, and wire fraud.

Megaupload pair faced 185 years in prison

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Admins Ortmann and van der Kolk originally faced 185 years in prison if found guilty, but have made deals with the US government for a reduced sentence. Dotcom tweeted “Good for them” and the two are expected to get parole after ten months according to Dotcom.

Why was the US DOJ so eager to get this deal done? Because our US Judge Liam O’Grady never disclosed that he was a Disney lawyer and shareholder until we discovered it. He removed himself from the case and every decision he had made is tainted and the case should be dismissed.

— Kim Dotcom (@KimDotcom) June 15, 2023

Imprisonment has also been delayed until August on humane grounds, as Ortmann is expecting a child. van der Kolk also has an ill mother. Both culprits also had their requests for home detention denied by the New Zealand courts.

Since the shutting down of Megaupload, Dotcom started up Mega and quickly severed ties with it in 2015. The service has also been used for piracy in some cases, but not to the degree of its predecessor.

While Ortmann and van der Kolk will be jailed later this year, Dotcom remains free due to the New Zealand Supreme Court not making a decision on whether to send him to the US for a further legal challenge.