TV fraud gang jailed for 30 years after illegal Premier League streaming operation

Three pirate streaming organisations are said to have unlawfully offered access to watch games in the English top flight.

Fraudulent operations known as Flawless, Shared VPS and Optimal (also known as Cosmic), made in excess of £7million in five years.

The five people involved have been jailed for a total of 30 years and seven months at Chesterfield Justice Centre.

In a media release, the Premier League said: "The illegal streaming businesses involved more than 50,000 customers and resellers, and 30 employees, one of which was positioned undercover at a specialist anti-piracy company.

"The organisations offered illegal access to watch Premier League matches, hundreds of channels from around the world and tens of thousands of on-demand films and TV shows.

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"All but one of the defendants, including Mark Gould [age 36 from London] who masterminded the operation and was one of the original co-founders, eventually pleaded guilty to all charges against them. Gould, who was described by the Judge as the driving force of the conspiracy, was sentenced to 11 years in prison.

"William Brown [age 33 from Stoke-on-Trent], who pleaded not guilty, falsely claimed to have been an undercover informant acting in the interests of law enforcement authorities and broadcasters.

"However, he was instead using his expert technical skills to hack legitimate customers' accounts to access and copy streams and intended for them to take the blame if identified by the authorities. In February this year, following a seven-week trial, Brown was unanimously found guilty by the jury.

"The investigation and prosecution by the Premier League also found significant evidence of other serious criminality. Christopher Felvus [age 36 from Pontypool] has subsequently been convicted of multiple unrelated offences, including being in possession of indecent child imagery.

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"In addition, materials seized from Gould resulted in his further arrest by the Metropolitan Police as he attempted to leave the country. He is now the subject of another ongoing separate criminal investigation, which the Premier League is assisting.

"In handing down the sentences, the Judge described a sophisticated offence involving significant planning and expertise, which involved the hacking of legitimate customers in the UK and abroad."