Meet the Dodgy Box Kingpins Making Thousands from Illegal Services
A group of criminals profited from illegal streaming, costing legitimate services millions
Illegal Streaming, Pirate Boxes, Sky TV, BT Sports, Liverpool, UK
Manchester: A group of individuals has been caught running illegal streaming operations, raking in huge profits while costing legitimate services millions. These guys were selling devices that let people access paid TV content without paying a dime.
One of the culprits was a police officer who ended up in hot water for selling illegal devices that bypassed subscription fees. A school headteacher also got caught, making a whopping £240,000 by ripping off companies like Sky and BT.
Another guy, who was on the run after being convicted for selling pirate boxes, was eventually nabbed in Cyprus. He was brought back to the UK to face the music. It’s wild how these operations can go unnoticed for so long.
Kieron Sharp, the CEO of the Federation Against Copyright Theft, pointed out that illegal streaming isn’t just a harmless crime. It hurts the creative industries and can even lead to data theft for consumers.
Take Paul Merrell, for instance. This school headteacher ran an illegal streaming business and had around 2,000 customers. He made a cool £240,000 before getting caught and sentenced to a year in jail.
Then there’s Daniel Aimson, who cost legitimate providers over £2 million. He was a police officer too, managing a company that sold devices for streaming content without paying. He got 12 months behind bars for his actions.
Michael Hornung went on the run after selling pirate boxes but was eventually caught in Cyprus. He sold around 2,700 boxes that let people watch premium TV without paying. He got a hefty sentence of four-and-a-half years.
Jonathan Edge from Liverpool was also sentenced to over three years for loading illegal streaming services onto Fire Sticks. He relied on social media to promote his services, ignoring warnings to stop.
Two brothers from Ilford, Amir Butt and Ammar Hussain, were sentenced to a total of 11 years for running an illegal streaming service. They made a fortune over several years, depriving legitimate providers of over £1 million.
Lastly, Sunny Kumar Kanda from Halifax sold modified Fire Sticks that let people access services like Sky and Netflix without paying. He was sentenced to two years in prison for his actions.