BitTorrent Uploader Faces 5 Years in Prison

The United States Department of Justice said this week that a fifth defendant has plead guilty to copyright infringement stemming from the crackdown on the Elite Torrents BitTorrent network, which was illegally spreading music, movies and software.

24 year-old Sam Kuonen of Columbus, Ga., pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement and criminal copyright infringement. He faces up to five years in prison, a fine of $250,000, and three years of supervised release. Sentencing is scheduled for July 16.

The first conviction related to the BitTorrent effort, dubbed "D-Elite" by authorities, came last October, when 23 year-old Grant Stanley from Virginia was sentenced to five months in jail and three years of supervised release. Stanely was an administrator for Elite Torrents.

Although Kuonen was not involved in the operation of the BitTorrent network, he was an "uploader" of copyrighted material. Kuonen supplied the first copy of movies and other illicit content to be shared with others.