Feds shut down Comstock Park NFL pirate

NEW YORK (AP) - With the Super Bowl days away, federal agents are cracking down on websites that stream unauthorized broadcasts of sports events.

Federal prosecutors in New York announced Thursday that prosecutors had seized 16 sites and brought criminal charges against a Michigan man who controlled nine of them.

The Comstock Park, Mich., web operator in the case, Yonjo Quiroa, 28, was charged Wednesday with copyright infringement. Prosecutors said he distributed football, basketball and hockey games and wrestling matches.

The government says nine of the 16 pirate websites were being run out of a unit at York Creek Apartments in Comstock Park, where Quiroa lived. His Facebook page lists some of those pirate websites.

The government alleges that Quiroa was pirating copyrighted football, basketball, hockey and wrestling broadcasts, streaming them on the websites and selling advertising to online merchants to make money from them.

According to a statement provided by York Creek Apartments officials on Thursday afternoon, officials cooperated fully with federal investigators.

York Creek said that Quiroa was not a registered occupant of the unit. The suspect was a friend of the husband-and-wife leaseholders, said York Creek. He was subletting a second bedroom in their unit.

The leaseholders are not facing federal charges, York Creek said. It appears that the leaseholders did not know that Quiroa was running pirate websites out of their apartment.

York Creek said it does now allow unregistered occupants and is addressing the lease violation with the leaseholders.

According to the federal arrest warrant, Quiroa is also known as Ronaldo Solano.

After Quiroa's arrest at York Creek Apartments on Wednesday, his case was immediately transferred to the federal court in New York where the indictment originated.   

Quiroa's arrest was part of the nationwide crackdown called Operation Fake Sweep, revealed Thursday -- just in time for the Super Bowl. In addition to busting Quiroa in Comstock Park agents swarmed stores, flea markets and street vendors who were selling counterfeit NFL sportswear around the country.

Authorities said the prosecution is part of a continuing federal effort to target counterfeiting and piracy on the Internet.

U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara says piracy costs sports leagues and broadcasters millions of dollars.

Boxer Tyler Webb likes to watch a good fight on TV. But if it's going to cost him on pay-per-view or HBO, he goes online, where he watches for free.

"If I don't have the money to watch, it I might as well turn on the Internet," said Webb. "It's faster. I don't have to pay for it. It's 50 bucks I get to keep in my pocket and spend on something else."

And he's not alone. New England quarterback Tom Brady told reporters Thursday that he watched last year's Super Bowl from Costa Rica on an illegal Super Bowl website.

Watching the streams isn't illegal, but streaming pirated sporting events is. But for many who watch the streams, it's not about legality: It's about money.

"Yeah, it's kind of crappy sometimes, but it's 50 extra dollars I get to keep," said Webb.

Boxing coach Dennis Shimmell, Jr. understands who takes a hit.

"Some people might look at a Floyd Mayweather Jr. and say, 'Well, they're getting 25 or 35 million dollars for one of their fights, so it's not hurting them," said Shimmell. "The problem is if their promoters are losing money, it is hurting them. Instead of getting 30 million maybe they would've gotten 35 million."

And though Webb enjoys watching what would be an expensive match online for free, he understands it's not fair. And he doesn't have anything against the federal crackdown.

"I think it's a good thing, I mean other people are paying to watch that and we're just watching it for free," Said Webb. "You got to do what you got to do. Gotta enforce the law."

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Statement from York Creek Apartments, released Thursday afternoon:

On February 1, 2012, officials at York Creek Apartments in Comstock Park, Michigan were approached by federal investigators as part of an ongoing investigation on Internet piracy and counterfeiting. It was brought to York Creek’s attention that an individual residing on property was a suspect in this national investigation. York Creek cooperated with investigators and gave them full access to the unit when the search warrant was issued. York Creek officials checked its tenant files and found no record of the individual being a registered occupant. Additionally, the leaseholders, who were not charged by authorities, are stating to have no known awareness that the illegal activity was taking place in their unit. It’s believed that the suspect was a friend of the leaseholders, a husband and wife, and was renting a second bedroom in the unit. York Creek confirms that there were no past lease-related or criminal issues with these leaseholders and had no reason to believe any illegal Internet activity had been taking place. At this