A federal jury in Las Vegas convicted five men for their involvement in the operation of Jetflicks, one of the largest and most popular illegal streaming services in the United States.
Jetflicks operated for 12 years, from its launch in 2007 until its shutdown by the FBI in 2019.
At its peak, the service offered over 10,500 movies and 183,000 TV episodes, pirated from legitimate platforms such as Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime, using automated scripts.
Jetflicks allowed tens of thousands of paid subscribers to stream and download these infringing programs, often making episodes available the day after they aired on television.
Source: Internet Archive
“The group reproduced hundreds of thousands of copyrighted television episodes without authorization, amassing a catalog larger than the combined catalogues of Netflix, Hulu, Vudu, and Amazon Prime,” reads the U.S. Department of Justice announcement.
“Dallmann and his co-conspirators made millions of dollars streaming and distributing this catalogue of stolen content to tens of thousands of paid subscribers.”
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri noted that Jetflix’s operation generated millions of USD in illicit gains, causing comparable financial damages to copyright owners. However, no specific figures were shared.
Conviction
The five men convicted of operating the illegal platform are Kristopher Dallmann, Douglas Courson, Felipe Garcia, Jared Jaurequi, and Peter Huber.
All five individuals face charges for conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement, while Dallmann also faces money laundering charges due to his attempts to conceal illicit proceeds from Jetflicks.
The potential sentences for everyone except for Dallmann are a maximum of five years of imprisonment.
Dallmann faces a far more severe potential sentence, up to 48 years in prison, due to the additional charges of money laundering and misdemeanor criminal copyright infringement.
The final sentences are to be decided by a federal district court judge at a date that has not yet been scheduled.
Source: www.bleepingcomputer.com