NinjaVideo Piracy Site Operator Pleads Guilty

An operator of what had been a popular underground website for downloading pirated movies has pleaded guilty in an Alexandria, Va., courtroom to a copyright-infringement conspiracy.

Hana Beshara, 29, of Las Vegas admitted her role Thursday in running NinjaVideo, which at one point allowed millions of users to illegally download movies and television programs.

Federal prosecutors in Alexandria estimated NinjaVideo users submitted more than 1 million requests a week for pirated movies and TV shows before the site was shut down last year.

In court documents Thursday, Beshara admitted that she personally profited by $210,000 for operating NinjaVideo between 2008 and 2010. While most content was available for free, some required a subscription fee. Users also made donations online.

Beshara is the second person linked to NinjaVideo to plead guilty. Three others still face trial.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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