Dangerous music pirate finally brought to justice after sharing 24 songs on Kazaa

Following a five-year legal battle with the Recording Industry Association of America, it looks like Jammie Thomas-Rasset will finally have to pony up some serious cash. According to Reuters, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has determined that $222,000 is a fair enough fine for downloading and sharing 24 songs from Kazaa. (Also, wow, remember Kazaa?).

The RIAA originally brought the copyright infringement case to trial in 2007, but complications in the process—including a 2010 decision requiring her to pay Capitol Records $1.5 million—led to the district court's ruling to reduce Thomas-Rasset’s fine to $54,000. Tuesday’s three-judge panel unanimously reinstated the fine from the first trial, despite Thomas-Rasset’s argument that the songs were most likely downloaded and shared by her sons and ex-boyfriend. Which just goes to show: Having kids and/or a boyfriend is a recipe for disaster.