Alleged extortion for illegal file sharers

9 Feb 2010

If you thought the Recording Industry Association of America was hard on illegal file sharing, consider Dorin Dehelean.

Dehelean, an Internet security analyst, was in charge of tracking illegal file sharing at the University of Georgia until he allegedly tried to shake down the student downloaders he caught.

Last week, police arrested the 37-year-old Dehelean on a felony extortion charge, according to a report published by the Web site of the Athens Banner-Herald. Police allege that Dehelean contacted a female student two weeks ago to tell her that he'd caught her violating school policy by illegally downloading copyright materials.

He also told her he could make the "situation go away in exchange for money," Jimmy Williamson, chief of campus police at the university, told the Banner-Herald. "All he was doing was (offering) to keep the information from going to Judicial Programs."

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