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Isle Of Wight Man Extradited To US Over International Piracy Charges

An Isle of Wight man has been extradited to the United States over allegations he was involved in a global piracy ring.

Appearing in court in Manhatten yesterday (Wednesday), George Bridi, 51, pleaded not guilty to three conspiracy charges, according to news agency Reuters.

Mr Bridi and two other men were charged over their work for the Sparks Group.

It is alleged the group leaked movies and TV shows over nearly a decade, including films from major production studios.

U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said:

“As alleged, George Bridi was a member of an international video piracy ring that circumvented copyright protections on nearly every movie released by major production studios, as well as television shows, and distributed them worldwide on the Internet.

"Thanks to the assistance of our law enforcement partners, the piracy ring has been busted and Bridi is now in U.S. custody.”

As Isle of Wight Radio previously reported, Mr Bridi was arrested in Cyprus last year as part of an international operation.

He was charged with conspiring to commit copyright infringement, wire fraud and transporting stolen property interstate.

Reuters reports Sparks servers were taken offline around the world in August 2020, when Bridi and his co-defendants were charged.

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