Cleveland, England police wrapped up their investigation Wednesday against the administrator and a handful of users for OiNK, a popular, invite-only music-focused BitTorrent tracker shut down in October 2007.
Ellis, for his role in running OiNK, faces charges of “conspiracy to defraud,” reports TorrentFreak. Charges against Ellis were originally supposed to be announced in December, however due to a lack of evidence the date was pushed back a total of six times, to September 10.
Of the six OiNK users originally arrested in May, two were charged with copyright infringement for uploading a single CD to the site.
British police, in conjunction with UK music-industry association the BPI, originally arrested the six uploaders – whose names were never released to the public – on charges of “conspiracy to defraud the music industry.” At the time, the specific acts that prompted their arrests – as opposed to the stern warning letters that most UK residents will receive – were unknown, however offhand statements by a BPI representative indicated that the six may have “pre-released” music to the site before its official release date.
Two of those uploaders, a 19-year-old man and a 28-year-old woman, were cleared of all charges and released late last July. The fate of the remaining two uploaders – who neither faced charges nor walked free last July – is unclear.
The cases against Ellis and the two uploaders will be heard by a low-level magistrates’ court on September 24, where authorities will determine whether or not to move ahead with a full jury trial in a Crown Court. Ellis’ case is expected to do so – however the cases against the two unnamed uploaders, which are considered to be much weaker, may not.
Cleveland police have yet to post an official statement on the case, and the BPI declined to comment.
OiNK fell under the maw of “Operation Ark Royal” late last year, when a joint task force between British and Dutch police, with assistance from the IFPI and BPI, successfully closed the site and arrested owner and administrator Ellis in his home.
