Illegal EPL Streamers Jailed

A group of five men who offered an illegal streaming service for English Premier League (EPL) matches have been sentenced to a total of more than 30 years in prison.

The collective was sentenced at Chesterfield Crown Court in England on Tuesday, 30 May, with the “mastermind of the operation”, Mark Gould, receiving 11 years for his role. The group were convicted of conspiracy to defraud, money laundering and contempt of court.

Zak Smith, the sixth member of the group, failed to appear in court for sentencing, resulting in an arrest warrant being issued for his name. Another member, Christopher Felvus, was discovered with indecent images of children on his computer and found guilty of possession and voyeurism.

For five years, “Flawless TV” offered £10-per-month subscriptions to unsuspecting people, earning more than seven million pounds from around 50 000 subscribers in total. Along with the latest EPL matches, the service also offered tens of thousands of on-demand films and TV shows.

In total, the businesses employed 30 people, including one undercover anti-piracy specialist.

“I don’t think any of us realised how big it was,” Doug Love – Trading standards investigator and the man who led the raid on the London flat — told an international publication on Tuesday.

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