Kim Dotcom & Megaupload vs The US Government

[Grep]

The US government has shut down one of the world's largest filesharing destinations, calling the service an "international organized criminal enterprise allegedly responsible for massive worldwide online piracy." In cooperation with the United States, New Zealand arrested four MegaUpload executives including founder Kim Dotcom today, while authorities are pursuing three other site operators.

The charges stand "among the largest criminal copyright cases investigations ever brought by the [US]" and investigations are underway in the Netherlands, Philippines, UK, Hong Kong, Germany, and Canada. The DOJ issued over 20 search warrants in the US and eight other countries, seizing more than $50 million in assets, including a luxury car collection as well as 18 MegaUpload-related domains.

The filing says Dotcom and his associates are responsible for $175 million in criminal proceeds (i.e. income via subscription fees and advertising) on top of costing copyright owners more than $500 million in lost revenue. Ironically, TorrentFreak notes that only a few weeks ago, Dotcom boasted that his ventures had nothing to worry about (legally speaking) because they complied with the law.

Dotcom, his workers, MegaUpload Limited and Vestor Limited (another firm associated with Dotcom) are charged with two substantive counts of criminal copyright infringement, engaging in a racketeering conspiracy, as well as conspiring to commit copyright infringement and money laundering. If convicted, they could face 50+ years in prison for the combined charges (TorrentFreak offers a breakdown).

http://www.techspot.com/news/47113-megaupload-shut-down-by-us-government-four-execs-arrested.html

Wow those are some hectic charges, me wonders if this is just the start?

 

[LazyLion]

http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthr...Music-Group-thinks-this-song-should-be-banned!
http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/397499-MegaUpload-taken-down-by-Feds
http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthr...uts-down-Megaupload-com-hacktivists-retaliate
http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/397663-Cyber-criminal-Kim-Dotcom’s-cloudy-past
http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthr...y-Act-Thread?p=7588819&viewfull=1#post7588819

 

[Geriatrix]

Kim Dotcom & Mega versus The US Government

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10838484

Telecom engineers investigating internet irregularities weeks before GCSB has said it started spying on him.

Kim Dotcom's internet connection was being diverted inside New Zealand weeks before the Government Communications Security Bureau says it started spying on him.

The Herald has obtained details showing Telecom engineers and staff at its technology services company Gen-I were investigating irregularities with his internet connection in November.

The revelation has raised suspicion that Mr Dotcom was victim to earlier spying than the GCSB has admitted. It has brought fresh calls for an inquiry amid claims of the spy agency's role in the international "Five Eyes" Echelon Network.

The focus of the early investigation is the dedicated internet connection from Mr Dotcom's mansion in Coatesville to the Sky Tower in Auckland. It was intended to give him the fastest possible internet connection - a factor which would have been critical in his quest to be the best in the online Modern Warfare 3 game.

Mr Dotcom became the "number one" ranked player of the game before his arrest.

During the record-setting effort, Gen-I staff began an investigation into the amount of time it took for an internet signal from Mr Dotcom's home to reach an offshore Xbox computer server.

Information held by the Herald shows Gen-I studied data showing the amount of time it took information on the internet connection to reach the Xbox server. It went from 30 milliseconds to 180 milliseconds - a huge increase for online gamers.

The reason for the extra time emerged in a deeper inquiry, which saw a "Trace Route" search which tracks internet signals from their origin to their destinations. When the results were compared it showed the internet signal was being diverted inside New Zealand.

The data showed the internet signal had previously taken two steps before going offshore - but was now taking five.

The GCSB is under police investigation after admitting it illegally spied on Mr Dotcom between December 16 and January 20, the day of the raid. It is also studying three other cases of possible illegal action carried out after requests from the police.

The other cases emerged after Prime Minister John Key - who is responsible for the agency - ordered an inquiry. Asked about the possibility of earlier spying, a spokeswoman said the Prime Minister had sought and received "a fresh assurance" the GCSB and Security Intelligence Service had not carried out any surveillance before December 16.

Green co-leader Russel Norman said it could not be ruled out.

He said a commission of inquiry was needed to examine the behaviour of the GCSB.

He said it could be conducted in secrecy with sensitive material excised from a final public report.

Mr Norman highlighted the Echelon of Five Eyes agreement where the GCSB worked with intelligence agencies from the US, Australia, Canada and the UK.

Labour leader David Shearer said he also wanted an independent inquiry which could be run by a senior and trusted New Zealander. "The critical issue is who knew what and how all the checks and balances work."

A Telecom spokeswoman said the company would not give information to the police of "any other government agency" unless legally forced to do so.

 

[LazyLion]

Kim Dotcom & Mega versus The US Government

New Zealand unveiled plans Monday to allow its foreign intelligence agency to spy on local residents, to fill a loophole exposed when Internet tycoon Kim Dotcom was illegally snooped upon.

Prime Minister John Key said the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) needed additional powers because the challenges facing intelligence agencies had changed enormously in the past decade.

"In large part, this is due to the rapid evolution of technology in areas like cyber-security and the threat of cyber-attacks," he said.

"It's vital that legislation in this area is fit for purpose and keeps pace with changes in the operating environment, while also safeguarding the rights of law-abiding New Zealanders."

Existing legislation says the GCSB is supposed to focus on foreign intelligence and cyber-security, explicitly forbidding it from spying on New Zealand citizens or residents.

But it was revealed last year that it spied on Dotcom, a German national with New Zealand residency, before armed police raided his Auckland mansion in January 2012 and arrested him for online piracy.

Key issued a public apology to Dotcom and a subsequent inquiry released last month found another 88 New Zealand citizens or residents may have been illegally spied on. Details of the cases were not released.

Under reforms to be introduced to parliament this week, the GCSB will be able to spy on New Zealanders provided it receives permission from Key, who holds ministerial responsibility for the agency.

Dotcom has received clearance from the New Zealand courts to attempt to sue the GCSB and police, alleging wrongful arrest.

The opposition Labour Party said extending the GCSB's powers was a "band aid" solution that did nothing to address a lack of oversight which had shaken the public's trust in intelligence agencies.

"The state should not extend its powers to spy on citizens lightly... (John Key) is asking New Zealanders to trust him to personally to decide who can be spied on, despite his record of lax oversight of the GCSB," Labour leader David Shearer said.

Dotcom, 39, was arrested by New Zealand authorities cooperating with a massive US probe into online piracy.

US authorities allege his Megaupload and related file-sharing sites netted more than US$175 million and cost copyright owners more than US$500 million by offering pirated copies of movies, TV shows and other content.

Dotcom, who changed his name from Kim Schmitz, denies any wrongdoing and is free on bail in New Zealand ahead of an extradition hearing scheduled in August.


Source : Sapa-AFP /pk
Date : 06 May 2013 08:48

 

[LazyLion]

New Zealand's Top Court takes Kim Dotcom Appeal

New Zealand's highest court has agreed to hear an appeal by Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom and three colleagues as they seek to avoid extradition to the United States.

The New Zealand Supreme Court made the ruling Thursday.

U.S. prosecutors shut down the file-sharing site last year. They accuse Megaupload executives of racketeering by facilitating massive copyright fraud. Dotcom says he's innocent and can't be held responsible for those who chose to use the site to illegally download songs or movies.

Dotcom and his colleagues had sought access to all the U.S. evidence against them. A lower court ruled in their favor but an appeals court overturned that ruling, saying extensive disclosure at the extradition stage would bog down the process and a summary of the U.S. case would suffice.


Source : Sapa-AP /pd
Date : 16 May 2013 07:56

 

[ponder]

Dotcom and his colleagues had sought access to all the U.S. evidence against them. A lower court ruled in their favor but an appeals court overturned that ruling, saying extensive disclosure at the extradition stage would bog down the process and a summary of the U.S. case would suffice.

WTF? Then the court might as well go "because we say so" and provide no evidence.

 

[snoopdoggydog]

Kim Dotcom & Mega versus The US Government

On Friday the High Court of New Zealand ordered police to go through all of the digital material taken from Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom in a January 2012 raid and return anything irrelevant to their investigation.

And boy is Dotcom pleased.

The ruling is the latest legal victory for the 39-year-old dual citizen of Germany and Finland, who is fighting extradition to the U.S. relating to charges including engaging in a racketeering conspiracy, conspiring to commit copyright infringement, conspiring to commit money laundering, and two counts of criminal copyright infringement.

In June 2012 Chief Justice Helen Winkelmann ruled that the search warrants used in the raid on Dotcom's estate — requested by the FBI and carried out by the New Zealand police Special Tactics Group — were overly broad, and therefore illegal.

In Friday's decision Winkelmann reiterated that point, adding that the faulty warrants "has given rise to a miscarriage of justice."

Since the warrants did not allow for the offshore shipment of the hard drives without checking if they contained relevant material, any device found to contain irrelevant material must be returned to the plaintiffs and any copy destroyed.

Before it was shut down in January 2012, the file-sharing site Megaupload was one of the world's most popular websites — millions of users stored data, either for free or by paying for premium service. The site carried 4 percent of internet traffic.

Dotcom has since established the site kim.com in defiance of the prosecution in addition to creating a new, simplified, super-encrypted successor to Megaupload called MEGA.

He also recently released a white paper that provides a legal argument for his innocence:

“The prosecution seeks to hold Megaupload and its executives criminally responsible for alleged infringement by the company’s third-party cloud storage users. The problem with the theory, however, is that secondary copyright infringement is not – nor has it ever been – a crime in the United States.”

The two-bit phone hacker turned tech playboy seems quite pleased with the latest decision:

Mike Masnick of Techdirt notes that FBI may completely ignore the order, and that would further complicate the extradition case.

The extradition hearing has already been postponed from March to August, and the Kiwi outlet Stuff notes that it is likely to be delayed again given the complexity of the case.

In the meantime the New Zealand Supreme Court is expected to hear an appeal to determine whether Dotcom should have access to documents — including nearly 22 million emails — seized in the raid. About $42 million in assets were also seized.

http://www.businessinsider.com/kim-dotcom-wins-another-legal-victory-2013-5

 

[buyeye]

I would want $42 million dollars of my stuff.

 

[LazyLion]

Kim Dotcom's Extradition Case Delayed Again

A US bid to extradite Megaupload boss Kim Dotcom from New Zealand for alleged online piracy has been delayed until at least November, court officials said Monday.

The extradition case, launched after Dotcom was arrested in an armed raid on his Auckland mansion in January 2012, has been repeatedly rescheduled amid legal wrangling over evidence disclosure.

A spokeswoman for Auckland's North Shore District Court said the extradition would no longer be heard in August as planned, but had been pushed back to November 21.

She said a back-up date of April 14, 2014 has also been reserved in case there were more delays in the case, which had become increasingly complex amid numerous legal hearings and challenges since Dotcom's arrest.

The US Justice Department and FBI allege Dotcom's Megaupload sites netted more than $175 million in criminal proceeds and cost copyright owners more than $500 million by offering pirated copies of movies, TV shows and other content.

The Megaupload empire, which at its peak had 50 million daily visitors and accounted for four percent of all Internet traffic, was shut down after the raid, although Dotcom has since launched a similar service called Mega.

He remains free on bail in New Zealand and denies the US charges of racketeering, fraud, money laundering and copyright theft, which could see him jailed for up to 20 years if convicted.

The German national has scored a number of legal victories in his case, including a ruling that the raid on his mansion was unlawful and an admission that New Zealand's intelligence agency illegally spied on him before his arrest.

The High Court last month ordered police to return any digital material seized in the raid that was not directly related to the prosecution case.

Dotcom is also fighting a separate case in the Supreme Court to force police to hand over all the evidence they hold against him, arguing he cannot mount an effective defence against extradition without it.


Source : Sapa-AFP /mjs
Date : 10 Jun 2013 06:16

 

[LazyLion]

Dotcom Condemns 'Data Massacre' as Former Web Host Deletes User Files

Internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom on Thursday condemned a Dutch company's decision to delete millions of files uploaded by users of his defunct file-sharing website Megaupload.

LeaseWeb BV said it could not store indefinitely the files on its servers formerly rented by Megaupload, pending the outcome of the case against Dotcom for alleged internet copyright infringement.

Dotcom called the decision to delete the files "the largest data massacre in the history of the internet".

"This is a sad day for the internet," he said on Twitter. "I'm so very sorry that Megaupload user data in Europe is now irreversibly lost. I'm in tears."

US authorities shut down the Megaupload website, widely used for sharing film and music files, in January 2012, and asked police in New Zealand, where German-born Dotcom has residency, to arrest him.

Dotcom and co-accused Finn Batato, Mathias Ortmann and Bram van der Kolk are now on bail awaiting a hearing on their extradition to the United States.

Dotcom said the LeaseWeb servers had contained his own personal files on Megaupload, which would have provided crucial evidence for his defence against the US charges.

He said on Twitter that he was "looking for a Dutch law firm to evaluate potential legal claims against LeaseWeb on behalf of Megaupload and our users."

LeaseWeb said it could not continue to hold the files without payment.

"After a year of nobody showing any interest in the servers and data we considered our options," LeaseWeb's senior regulatory counsel Alex de Joode said.

"We did inform Megaupload about our decision to re-provision the servers".


Source : Sapa-dpa /mv
Date : 20 Jun 2013 03:08

 

[LazyLion]

Kim Dotcom plans New Zealand Poltical Party

Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom announced Monday he will launch a political party in New Zealand to contest next year's elections, drawing a scornful response from Prime Minister John Key.

Dotcom said his plans were still embryonic but the yet-to-be-named party would launch on January 20, the second anniversary of an armed police raid on his Auckland mansion which resulted in him being charged with online piracy.

"WOW! I'm getting so many encouraging messages about my plans for a new political party. Thank you," the 39-year-old tweeted.

The Internet mogul revealed few details of his platform beyond saying he wanted to improve New Zealand's information technology infrastructure, including "fair Internet pricing and no more data caps".

"The party website with information about our vision and candidates will launch with another BIG event on Jan 20, 2014. Second raid anniversary," he said on Twitter.

Dotcom, who denies any wrongdoing and is free on bail as he fights extradition to the United States, also took a swipe at Key, whom he accuses of bowing to Hollywood pressure by pursuing the case against him.

Key, who will be seeking a third term in the 2014 general election, dismissed the move as a stunt and suggested Dotcom name his organisation the "no-hope" party.

"It's like everything we see from the guy, he wants to stay here to fight his extradition treaty, he's got some very good PR people, we'll see how it goes," he told TV3.

Dotcom responded on Twitter: "I don't have PR people. I'm just good at being myself. Try that Mr Key."

He used the hashtag #Gimme5Percent on one of his tweets, referring to the five percent threshold a political party needs under New Zealand's proportional voting system to win representation in parliament.

While Dotcom has New Zealand residency, he is a German national, meaning he cannot be be elected to parliament personally.

But he told technology website torrentfreak.com that his nationality did not prevent him from launching a political party in New Zealand and becoming its president.

"Someone needs to lead New Zealand into the future," he said. "Unfortunately the current government doesn't know what the future looks like."

Dotcom has become a celebrity in New Zealand during his legal battle. He made number 98 on a Reader's Digest list of New Zealand's 100 most trusted people released in June. Key was ranked 80th.


Source : Sapa-AFP /kn
Date : 02 Sep 2013 03:21

 

[LazyLion]

NZ court finds raid on Kim Dotcom was legal

A New Zealand appeals court ruled Wednesday that police acted legally when armed officers raided Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom's Auckland mansion as part of a US-led online piracy probe.

The decision overturned an earlier finding that the January 2012 dawn raid was unlawful because the search warrants police used were too broad to be considered reasonable.

An appeals bench of three judges found the warrants were "defective in some respects" but not enough to render them invalid.

"This really was a case of error of expression. The defects were defects in form not in substance," they said in a 44-page written judgement.

"No more items were seized than would have been without the defects in the search warrants."

Police seized more than 135 electronic items in the raid, including laptops, computers, portable hard drives, flash storage devices and servers, containing an estimated 150 terabytes of data.

New Zealand authorities carried out the operation at the request of the FBI and US Justice Department, who were conducting their largest ever copyright investigation into Dotcom's business empire.

However, the appeals court upheld an earlier ruling that the New Zealand police should not have allowed the FBI to clone much of the data and take it back to the United States to be analysed for evidence in the investigation.

The seized data relates to Dotcom's Megaupload file-sharing business, which accounted for an estimated four percent of all Internet traffic before it was shut down in the wake of the raid.

US authorities allege Megaupload and related sites netted more than $175 million and cost copyright owners more than $500 million by offering pirated copies of movies, TV shows and other content.

Dotcom denies any wrongdoing and is free on bail in New Zealand ahead of an extradition hearing scheduled in April.

If the German national and his three co-accused are sent to the United States they will face charges of racketeering, money laundering and copyright theft carrying potential jail terms of 20 years.

Dotcom has launched a new venture called Mega while on bail.

His San Francisco-based lawyer Ira Rothken said the latest judgement could be subject to further appeal.

"Our... legal team is reviewing the rulings made by the Court of Appeal and will likely seek leave to appeal to the Supreme Court," he tweeted.


Source : Sapa-AFP /kd
Date : 19 Feb 2014 04:00

 

[LazyLion]

MUSIC INDUSTRY JOINS LEGAL BATTLE AGAINST MEGAUPLOAD

The major US music labels joined the legal battle against file-sharing website Megaupload, with a copyright infringement lawsuit against the site shut down by US authorities.

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) announced the civil lawsuit filed Thursday on behalf of Warner Music Group, Universal Music, Sony Music Entertainment and Capitol Records.

The latest action comes days after the US film industry filed a similar lawsuit seeking damages from what was claimed to be the biggest Internet site for online piracy before it was shut down by US authorities.

The RIAA suit says Megaupload and its founder Kim Dotcom "actively and intentionally encouraged their users" to upload illegal copies of "the most popular entertainment content, including plaintiffs' sound recordings, for the purpose of distributing those copies to millions of other users."

The complaint seeks the maximum allowable damages and also requests an injunction, saying that the actions "cannot be fully measured and cannot be fully remedied by monetary damages."

The latest suit comes as the US Justice Department and FBI are seeking to extradite Dotcom from New Zealand to face charges of racketeering fraud, money laundering and copyright theft in a US court, which could see him jailed for up to 20 years if convicted.

The earlier lawsuit was filed Monday by US film studios in coordination with the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA),

The latest lawsuits would add civil damages to the case against Megaupload and Dotcom, who is currently free on bail in New Zealand and has started a new file-sharing venture called Mega.

On Twitter, Kim Dotcom made light of the new lawsuit.

"The RIAA, MPAA and DOJ are like three blind mice following each other in the pursuit of meritless copyright claims," he said in a tweet.

In a separate message, Dotcom wrote, "Hey... anybody did anything wrong on the Internet? Remember to sue me."

His lawyer Ira Rothken said on Twitter: "RIAA claims v Megaupload are meritless & is an assault on cloud storage a 'neutral' tech used both for good & bad."


Source : Sapa-AFP /kd
Date : 11 Apr 2014 15:50

 

[LazyLion]

'SUGAR DADDY' DOTCOM TRYING TO GAME N.Z. ELECTION: PM

New Zealand's Prime Minister John Key on Tuesday labelled Internet tycoon Kim Dotcom a political "sugar daddy" who is dabbling in the country's general election because he hopes it might help him escape justice.

The founder of the Megaupload file-sharing site, who is fighting extradition to the United States on online piracy charges, has founded the Internet Party to contest the September 20 election and formed an alliance with an existing left-wing Maori-based party called Mana.

While the flamboyant 40-year-old cannot stand as a candidate because he is a German national, his citizenship does not stop him launching a political party and having a say on its policies.

Key said Mana has only aligned itself with Dotcom, who changed his name from Kim Schmitz, because he is pouring NZ$3.0 million ($2.6 million) into a joint campaign with his party.

He also questioned Dotcom's motives for becoming involved in politics, suggesting he is looking to gain political influence in a bid to help his legal case.

"He is a sugar daddy for them (Mana), he is a chequebook," Key told TV3.

"I don't think we should have any pretences about what he's trying to do, which is stop being extradited from New Zealand and really trying to buy his way around the judicial process in a way that no other New Zealander could."

The US Justice Department and FBI claim Megaupload and related sites netted more than US$175 million in criminal proceeds, and cost copyright owners more than US$500 million by offering pirated copies of movies, TV shows and other content.

Dotcom says he did nothing illegal and is fighting the charges, which were laid after armed New Zealand police swooped on his Auckland mansion in a dawn raid in 2012.

Dotcom, who is free on bail ahead of an extradition hearing scheduled for February next year, has made no secret of his hope that Key fails to win a third term, accusing the conservative leader of being a stooge for a copyright crusade by Hollywood moguls.

Key's National Party is tracking above 50 percent in most opinion polls, although New Zealand's complicated proportional voting system is notoriously hard to predict.

Internet-Mana could prove a wild card if it reaches the five percent threshold needed to guarantee a political party representation in parliament.

Dotcom has denied any ulterior motive behind his party's establishment, saying he wants to improve New Zealand's Internet infrastructure and galvanise a generation of young voters who feel disenfranchised under the current system.


Source : Sapa-AFP /mjs
Date : 05 Aug 2014 06:46

 

[LazyLion]

DOTCOM DENIES HACKING N.Z. BLOGGER IN DIRTY TRICKS ROW

Internet mogul Kim Dotcom denied Monday that he hacked a right-wing blogger and leaked emails that have embroiled New Zealand's conservative government in dirty tricks allegations ahead of a general election.

Claims arising from the stolen emails that Prime Minister John Key's government colluded with blogger Cameron Slater to smear political opponents have dominated campaigning ahead of the September 20 election, with Key dismissing any suggestion of wrong-doing.

The emails were originally cited by left-wing author Nicky Hager in his book "Dirty Politics", released this month, triggering intense speculation about the source of the documents and how they were obtained.

Slater last week said he believed Dotcom was behind the cyber-theft from his blog "Whale Oil", an allegation the German national has rejected.

"Let me just be crystal clear, I have nothing to do with the hacking of Whale Oil," Dotcom told Radio New Zealand on Monday, saying the extent of his involvement with the site was to monitor it for defamatory statements.

"I was going to take legal action against Cameron Slater after he has written 200-plus smear stories (about Dotcom), character assassinations," he added.

The main thrust of the Whale Oil allegations are that one of Key's former staffers and a senior minister fed sensitive information to Slater, using his blog to damage opponents.

Dotcom, who is fighting a US attempt to extradite him for alleged online piracy, has been an active participant in the New Zealand election, bankrolling the Internet-Mana Party in a bid to prevent Key winning a third term in office.

Dotcom has made no secret of his desire to see Key ousted in the wake of the 2012 raid on his Auckland mansion, when the Megaupload founder was arrested and his online empire crippled.

Opinion polls show the dirty tricks allegations have had a negative impact on the government -- although it does not appear to be enough, yet, to tarnish Key's chances of securing another term.


Source : Sapa-AFP /dm
Date : 25 Aug 2014 03:20

 

[Picard]

tl;dr

 

[LazyLion]

Another victory for Kim Dotcom, he's getting all Megaupload data back ...

http://www.neowin.net/news/another-victory-for-kim-dotcom-hes-getting-all-megaupload-data-back

 

[LazyLion]

Kim Dotcom must reveal everything he owns to Hollywood...
http://torrentfreak.com/kim-dotcom-must-reveal-everything-owns-hollywood-141020/

 

[LazyLion]

FILE-SHARING MOGUL DOTCOM TO SET UP POLITICAL PARTY IN US

Internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom, the target of a US extradition request, said Tuesday that he would set up a political party in the United States.

Dotcom's Internet Party failed to win any seats when it contested the New Zealand general election in September. Its policies included fairer internet pricing and an end to internet data caps.

He said on Twitter that the US branch of the party would be established next year and be "well funded."

Dotcom is in New Zealand fighting extradition to the US on charges of copyright infringement. On Monday, he was allowed to return to his home after an attempt to revoke his bail was rejected.


Source : Sapa-dpa /aw
Date : 02 Dec 2014 03:40

 

[LazyLion]

Kim Dotcom can be extradited to U.S., New Zealand court rules

A New Zealand judge ruled Wednesday that colorful Internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom and three of his colleagues can be extradited to the United States to face criminal copyright charges.

Dotcom's lawyers said they will appeal the decision.

Judge Nevin Dawson's ruling came nearly four years after U.S. authorities shut down Dotcom's file-sharing website Megaupload, which was once one of the Internet's most popular sites. Prosecutors say it raked in at least $175 million US, mainly from people using it to illegally download movies.

The U.S. has charged the men with conspiracy to commit copyright infringement, racketeering and money laundering. If found guilty, they could face decades in jail.

Judge Dawson presided over a nine-week extradition hearing in which lawyers outlined the case against the four men. In his ruling, Dawson wrote that "The overwhelming preponderance of evidence ... establishes a prima facie case to answer for all respondents on each of the counts."

Read More...
http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/dotcom-extradition-ruling-1.3377681