Mar 3, 2011 - The UFC has another notch on its belt in the effort to shut down sites that illegally stream its events.
Bryan McCarthy, 32, of Deer Park, Texas, was taken into custody and has been charged with one count of criminal infringement of a copyright, according to a release by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Homeland Security Investigations. McCarthy allegedly operated channelsurfing.net, a site that was seized by federal authorities last month.
According to the release, investigators determined McCarthy made more than $90,000 in profits from online advertisers at the site, which allegedly offered pirated telecasts of the UFC, WWE, NFL, NBA, NHL and other professional organizations.
"Today's arrest is another step forward in the ongoing investigation by New York HSI agents into copyright infringement and theft of intellectual property rights," said James T. Hayes, special agent in charge of HSI in New York. "We will continue to investigate illegal streaming of programming on the Internet in an effort to preserve legitimate and creative business interests and deter others from engaging in online piracy."
The ICE and HSI release says McCarthy registered the domain in December 2005 and operated it out of his Texas home. McCarthy faces a maximum of five years in prison. The case is being handled by the Southern District of New York's Complex Frauds Unit.
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