Five men have been sentenced to a total of more than 30 years in prison after the Premier League brought about a historic private prosecution to clamp down on piracy and the illegal streaming of Premier League matches.
The individuals involved, aged between 30 and 46, operated one of the UK’s largest illicit streaming services and made millions of pounds selling TV sticks to over 50,000 customers and resellers, which allowed them to access streams illegally to watch most, if not all, of the most valuable sporting events in the world.
In what is the world’s largest-ever prosecution of an illegal streaming network, the five men were sentenced at Chesterfield Justice Centre on Tuesday, after being found guilty of conspiracy to defraud, money laundering and contempt of court.