Fed raid pounces on equipment for digital piracy

0 Comments | USA TODAY, August, 2004 | by Byron Acohido

Continuing a crackdown on digital piracy, federal agents on Wednesday raided five locations housing equipment used by elite hackers to exchange unauthorized copies of blockbuster films and popular music.

Federal agents seized computers, software and computer-related equipment in searches at five homes and one Internet service provider in Texas, New York and Wisconsin, the Justice Department said in a statement.

No charges were announced, but an FBI affidavit portrays a 46-year-old San Antonio man as the central figure running a network of computer hubs to exchange pirated movies, music and software among a circle of trusted patrons.

In contrast to file-sharing programs such as Kazaa and Grokster available to all consumers, elite file-sharing networks...