Two of the main coders at Kim Dotcom’s infamous Megaupload website have been sentenced to prison, the New Zealand Herald reported.
Mathias Ortmann and Bram van der Kolk, who pleaded guilty in a deal that includes them testifying against Dotcom in exchange for not facing extradition, were sentenced in the high court in Auckland on Thursday.
Ortmann was sentenced to two years and seven months while Van der Kolk was given two years and six months in prison, the newspaper said.
It said the sentences were substantially reduced from around 10 years in recognition of the guilty pleas, assistance to the FBI and rehabilitation efforts.
The US is seeking Dotcom’s extradition from New Zealand over his now defunct file-sharing website Megaupload.com, which is alleged to have been the vehicle for the biggest copyright infringement in US history.
The sentences come 11 years after a dawn raid on the flamboyant German millionaire’s Auckland mansion by armed police, who were acting on information from the FBI.
‘Never fold’
Prosecutors allege that Megaupload, which once accounted for 4% of all internet traffic, generated more than US$175-million in criminal proceeds from the exchange of pirated films, music and files.
Dotcom has vowed to continue to fight extradition.
“Never fold,” he said in a tweet on Thursday after the sentencing of his former colleagues. “My fight goes on.” — Matthew Brockett, (c) 2023 Bloomberg LP