Jonatan Correa News Today

Sparks allegedly cost studios tens of millions of dollars over nearly a decade by leaking movies and TV shows before their scheduled release dates.

By Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK (Reuters) - A British man was sentenced on Monday to a 22-month prison term after admitting involvement in a global piracy ring that caused major losses for movie and TV production studios by distributing unreleased content online. George Bridi, a 52-year-old former disk jockey, had already spent 17-1/2 months in jail since his arrest in Cyprus over his work for the Sparks Group, which prosecutors called an international online piracy group. Bridi pleaded guilty in N...

George Bridi, a 52-year-old former DJ, was sentenced to 22 months behind bars by a Manhatten judge.

By Jonathan Stempel

Authorities say the Sparks Group would override discs copyright protections via a practice called "cracking" or "ripping."

A key member of Scene piracy group SPARKS has been sentenced to 22 months in prison at a New York federal court.

The top-tier piracy world known as The Scene is in turmoil after reported raids in Europe and US indictments targeting key members of SPARKS.

> One of the key members of Scene piracy group SPARKS has been sentenced to 27 months supervised release. Jonatan Correa, who previously admitted being part of the notorious Scene group, received a relatively mild sentence due to his limited involvement and cooperative stance. In addition to serving jail time, Correa was also ordered to pay $54,000 in damages to the Motion Picture Association. For several decades, The Scene has been the main source of all pirated content made available on the...

> Jonatan Correa was part of the piracy Scene group SPARKS that presumably caused Hollywood millions in losses. After pleading guilty, he now faces a prison sentence of 12 to 18 months. However, the U.S. Government is asking a New York federal court to issue a lower sentence since Correa didnt have a financial motive. In addition, he has been cooperative since his arrest. Last year, the U.S. Department of Justice booked one of its biggest successes in its battle against online piracy. With he...

> One of the key members of Scene piracy group SPARKS has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit copyright infringement. The US Government signed a plea deal with Jonatan Correa, who admitted being part of the notorious Scene group. While the offense is punishable by a maximum sentence of five years in prison, both parties agreed to a guideline of 12 to 18 months. Last year, the US Department of Justice booked one of its biggest successes in its battle against online piracy. In August, law e...