Július Benčko
Július Benčko (born 1976 in Košice) also known as Juice is a Slovak webdesigner and amateur photographer. After closing down his webdesign company www.pixelhood.com (2001 - 2005) based in Slovakia, Július joined Kim Schmitz in 2006 as a Graphic Director of the Megaupload.com and other Mega-affiliated cyberlocker sites. He also obtained a 2.5% share in the Megaupload Ltd. holding company, held through Basemax International Ltd., where Benčko is the sole shareholder and appointed director.
Mega conspiracy
On January 5, 2012, Benčko was indicted by a grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia, USA and charged with engaging in a racketeering conspiracy, conspiration to commit copyright infringement and money laundering along with Kim Schmitz (also known as Kim Dotcom) and 5 other associates. While Schmitz (Dotcom), Finn Batato, Mathias Ortmann and Bram van der Kolk were arrested on January 20, 2012 in Auckland, New Zealand, by New Zealand authorities, Benčko and two others remain at large. Benčko faces a maximum penalty of 190 years in prison, if found guilty on all charges in the alleged Mega conspiracy.