FBI special agents arrested Gilberto Sanchez, 47, in New York on Wednesday morning for distributing a pirated and unfinished copy of "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," a spokesman for the bureau confirmed to TheWrap.
The bootlegged copy of the superhero prequel quickly circulated across the Internet after Sanchez allegedly uploaded it to the public sharing site Megaupload.com a month before the film’s May debut, leaving the film’s studio, 20th Century Fox, concerned that it would depress the summer blockbuster’s opening weekend take. The pirated film was allegedly watched 4 million times before the movie ever bowed in theaters.
Sanchez had previously been indicted in Los Angeles last week It is not clear from the indictment how Sanchez obtained his copy of the movie.
Sanchez was arrested at 6 a.m. in the morning in the Bronx and was transported to the FBI building in New York "without incident," according to a statement by Special Agent Richard Kolko. He is expected to appear before a federal judge this afternoon.
Fox hailed Sanchez’s arrest on Wednesday.
"We are supportive of the FBI’s actions and we will continue to cooperate fully with law enforcement to identify and prosecute any individuals who steal our movies," Chris Petrikin, a spokesman for Fox, said in a statement.
