Jail terms for members of the BitTorrent-based movie-sharing group iMAGiNE continue to set records: Wired reports that Jeramiah Perkins, who helped lead the group, has been given a 60-month sentence for his role in helping to record and distribute movies online during their theatrical run. Perkins’ sentence exceeds the 40-month one given to fellow member Gregory Cherwonik, making it the longest American jail sentence for file sharing. In their original indictment (PDF), prosecutors accused Perkins of conspiring to record video and audio for a laundry list of movies, including The Men Who Stare at Goats, The A-Team, and other releases from the past few years.
Member of file-sharing group given 5 years in prison for uploading movies
is a senior tech and policy editor focused on online platforms and free expression. Adi has covered virtual and augmented reality, the history of computing, and more for The Verge since 2011.
Wired reports that according to Perkins’ plea deal, he admitted to renting servers and registering domain names for the group’s activities, as well as to accepting “donations and payments” for its movies. The MPAA has called iMAGiNE one of the most successful film piracy groups, and a total of five members pled guilty to charges earlier this year. Besides Perkins and Cherwonik, two other members have been given sentences of 23 and 30 months; a fifth will likely be sentenced in March.
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