Operators of Latin American piracy site jailed for three years

Two operators of a Uruguay-based piracy website have been sentenced to three years and four months in prison.

In a statement on Friday July 26, the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE), an organisation dedicated to reducing online piracy, said the pair ran Pelispedia, which is among the top 100 most visited websites in Latin America.

Pelispedia, which distributed pirated films and TV shows, received more than 40 million visits per month.

The pair were sentenced in Montevideo, the country’s capital.

Additionally, ACE said authorities seized approximately $500,00 worth of assets from the couple. The assets have been transferred to Uruguay’s government, as per the country’s money-laundering laws.

The investigation into the site was launched after complaints from the Motion Picture Association of America and several other film and TV studios.

The couple behind the website were arrested in May this year following a group investigation by Interpol, rights holders and Uruguay's authorities. 

Charles Rivkin, chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association welcomed the sentence:

“We applaud the work of our partners at Interpol and law enforcement agencies in Uruguay for the successful legal action against a major Latin American piracy organisation, and thank the court for acting swiftly to stop this criminal network,” he said.

The website was also named on US Trade Representative’s list of piracy websites in April.