The Premier League has announced that five operators of illegal streaming networks have been sentenced to jail.
According to reports, three pirate streaming organizations were found to be illegally providing access to English Premier League matches.
The fraudulent operations, known as Flawless, Shared VPS, and Optimal (also known as Cosmic), generated over £7 million in the span of five years.
At the Chesterfield Justice Centre, the five individuals involved were collectively sentenced to a total of 30 years and seven months of imprisonment.
In an official statement, the Premier League revealed that the illegal streaming businesses catered to more than 50,000 customers and resellers, employing 30 individuals, including one undercover agent from a specialist anti-piracy company.
These organizations offered illegal access to Premier League matches, hundreds of international channels, and tens of thousands of on-demand films and TV shows.
Nearly all the defendants, including Mark Gould, the 36-year-old London resident who orchestrated the operation and was one of the original co-founders, ultimately pleaded guilty to all charges brought against them.
Gould, described by the Judge as the driving force behind the conspiracy, received a sentence of 11 years in prison.
William Brown, a 33-year-old from Stoke-on-Trent, initially pleaded not guilty and falsely claimed to have been an undercover informant acting on behalf of law enforcement authorities and broadcasters.
However, evidence revealed that Brown had instead been using his technical expertise to hack legitimate customers’ accounts, intending to shift the blame onto them if identified by authorities.
Following a seven-week trial, Brown was unanimously found guilty by the jury in February of this year.
During the Premier League’s investigation and prosecution, substantial evidence of other serious criminal activities was uncovered.
Christopher Felvus, a 36-year-old from Pontypool, was subsequently convicted of multiple unrelated offenses, including the possession of indecent child imagery.
Furthermore, materials seized from Mark Gould led to his additional arrest by the Metropolitan Police as he attempted to flee the country.
He is now the subject of another separate ongoing criminal investigation, in which the Premier League is providing assistance.
In delivering the sentences, the Judge described the offenses as sophisticated, involving meticulous planning and expertise, which included the hacking of legitimate customers both in the UK and abroad.