(AllHipHop News) Contrary to recent news reports, Swizz Beatz is not the CEO of controversial file-sharing website, Megaupload.com.
Ira Rothken, an attorney for Megaupload.com, made the revelation to RollingStone.com as he explained that, to his knowledge, Beatz “was never involved in any meaningful way” with Megaupload.com, but was in talks to helm the website.
“He was negotiating to become the CEO, but it was never official,” Rothken said.
The lawyer’s comments counter previous reports that listed Beatz as a silent, executive partner for Megaupload.com, which was shut down Thursday (January 19) after massive copyright infringement and racketeering charges were brought against the company and its top executives. Four of the seven defendants named in the case were arrested in New Zealand.
Other charges leveled at the Megaupload.com include money laundering and racketeering. The website stands accused of being complicit in costing copyright holders more than $500 million in damages, while raking in more than $175 million in illegal proceeds.
In protest of the Megaupload.com shut down, a number of major websites have been shut down by Internet hackers. Among those targeted were websites for the Department of Justice, the MPAA, Universal Music, and the RIAA. The FBI’s website, www.fbi.gov, is reportedly the next site on the list for Anonymous, a “hacktivist” group in Sweden that claimed responsibility for shutting down the Department of Justice website.
Megaupload.com is currently trying to get back online as it fights charges and works to recover from the situation.
