Federal authorities have busted a major Internet music piracy group that ripped off thousands of songs from popular artists such as Jay-Z, Eminem and U2, according to an indictment.
Among those charged was Adil R. Cassim, the alleged leader of the group known as Rabid Neurosis. He and others conspired to copy and release songs, often before the production companies had put them on the market, the indictment said.
The stolen songs were held on computer servers and garnered the group a reputation that enabled it to trade music with other piracy groups that had massive libraries, authorities said.
The indictment was unsealed in Alexandria’s federal court Wednesday, the same day Patrick L. Saunders pleaded guilty to his role in maintaining computer servers used to distribute the stolen goods.
The group was charged in Virginia, where AOL maintains its servers and through which the group often communicated via instant messenger.
To gain access to music not yet on the market, Rabid Neurosis members worked with music industry insiders, including employees at radio stations and retailers who often received advanced copies of music releases, prosecutors said.
Bennie Glover, according to the indictment, was one of those insiders. He worked for a compact disc production plant in North Carolina where he had access to albums produced by Universal Music Group, the company behind some of the biggest acts of the past 20 years. The company produced albums for the artists listed by prosecutors in the indictment including Jay-Z, U2 and Eminem.
Glover is accused of providing Cassim with the albums often months before their commercial release.
Other members of Rabid Neurosis were known as “Tuesday Release” rippers, named such because music companies typically release albums on Tuesdays, prosecutors said. On those days, the Tuesday Release rippers would buy the album and race to get an illegal copy on the Internet to be downloaded by other members of the conspiracy and eventually the general public. Edward L. Mohan II, a Maryland resident, was indicted for allegedly being a Tuesday Release ripper.
Rabid Neurosis was also known for leaving behind a signature on the music it pirated. According to the indictment, Matthew D. Chow was contacted in 2000 to create the signature, which disappeared in 2007 after MTV News listed it as the source for the prerelease of an Eminem album.
The four members of Rabid Neurosis publicly charged Wednesday face up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted. Saunders faces the same when he’s sentenced Dec. 4.
