NinjaVideo founder pleads guilty

A founding father of the NinjaVideo website plead guilty on Friday for his role in offering unlicensed downloads of movies and Television shows. Matthew David Howard Cruz, 23, of Raleigh, N.C., plead guilty inside a federal court in Virginia to conspiracy and criminal copyright violation. Sentencing is scheduled for 12 ,. 16, and that he faces an optimum penalty of 5 years imprisonment on each count. NinjaVideo operated from Feb, 2008, until it had been shut lower by police force in June 2010 included in the government's Operation Within Our Sites attack. Based on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which carried out the analysis with the National Intellectual Property Privileges Coordination Center, Cruz accepted he designed most of the operational aspects of the web site, by which movies still playing in theaters plus some not launched were among individuals offered. Cruz also accepted he made contracts with advertising organizations to create earnings for that site. He and the affiliates collected about $500,000 when they were running a business. Four other suspects were indicted earlier this year together with Cruz, and therefore are scheduled to visit trial on February. 6. Contact Ted Manley at ted.manley@variety.com