OT: Channelsurfing.net operator arrested & charged

Channelsurfing.net was shut down by federal agents in February, and now the Texas based operator has been arrested and charged by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

NEW YORK - The operator of a website that illegally streamed live, copyrighted sporting events on the Internet was arrested this morning by agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Bryan McCarthy, 32, of Deer Park, Texas, was taken into custody at his home and is charged with one count of criminal infringement of a copyright. He was the operator of channelsurfing.net, which was seized by federal authorities on Feb. 1, 2011, as part of an ongoing HSI investigation into websites that illegally streamed copyrighted sporting telecasts and pay-per-view events.

The investigation into McCarthy revealed that he made more than $90,000 in profits from online merchants who paid him to advertise on the website. Since the seizure of the site, it has received more than 1.3 million hits.

 

Federal charges make it likely that other streaming sites look good and hard at continuing to offer service. The party may be over for out of market Michigan fans hoping to catch a game on TV...

http://www.ice.gov/news/releases/1103/110303newyork.htm