The latest wave of actions from the RIAA come less than a month after similar "John Doe" lawsuits relating to 532 individuals, bringing the total number of lawsuit targets to more than 1,500. None of the cases to date have resulted in a judgment against a file-swapper.
Now, New Jersey resident Michele Scimeca is countersuing, arguing extortion and violations of the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.
Scimeca says she was sued over her child's use of file-sharing service Kazaa "for a school project." She is now suing a number of major record labels, arguing that their demand for reimbursement of $150,000 per infringement falls foul of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Statute, known as RICO. It's the same law that put mob Godfather John Gotti behind bars in 1992.
"They're banding together to extort money, telling people they're guilty and they will have to pay big bucks to defend their cases if they don't pony up now. It is fundamentally not fair," Scimeca's lawyer, Bart Lombardo, told New Jersey's Star Ledger.