In a landmark case, five individuals were convicted in Las Vegas for operating Jetflicks, the largest illegal streaming service in America, offering over 183,000 stolen TV episodes and generating millions in revenue, exceeding Netflix, Hulu, Vudu, and Prime Video combined.
Five men in Las Vegas were recently convicted for running Jetflicks, a massive illegal streaming service that made millions by offering over 183,000 stolen TV episodes for just $9.99 a month. Using sophisticated software, they scoured piracy sites for content, which they then hosted on their servers. Their scheme caused substantial harm to copyright holders, leading to charges of criminal copyright infringement and money laundering. Despite attempts to disguise Jetflicks as an aviation entertainment company, they were caught and now face years in prison.
This Monday, a federal jury in Las Vegas found five individuals guilty of their roles in running Jetflicks, which authorities said was one of the biggest illicit streaming businesses in the country.
The Justice Department stated on Thursday that Jetflicks, which paid $9.99 a month for the streaming service, caused “substantial harm to television program copyright owners” in addition to earning millions of dollars in subscription income.
Prosecutors said that Jetflicks formerly boasted of hosting over 183,200 TV episodes, more than the entire catalogs of Netflix, Hulu, Vudu, and Amazon Prime Video combined.
The five men—Kristopher Dallmann, Douglas Courson, Felipe Garcia, Jared Jaurequi, and Peter Huber—operated the Jetflicks streaming service starting in 2007, according to court records and evidence presented during the trial. Federal authorities claim that the group searched piracy sites like Torrentz and the Pirate Bay for illicit TV episode copies using “sophisticated computer scripts” and software. They then downloaded and stored the illegal episodes on Jetflicks’ servers. In 2019, the guys were accused of planning to break federal criminal copyright laws.
The five guys were found guilty by the jury of plotting to violate copyright. Dallmann was also found guilty by the jury of three charges of misdemeanor criminal copyright infringement and two counts of money laundering via concealment. The Justice Department states that Dallmann may receive a maximum sentence of 48 years in prison, while Courson, Garcia, Jaurequi, and Huber may receive maximum sentences of five years apiece. The date of sentencing is still pending.
The defendants “tried to disguise Jetflicks as an aviation entertainment company,” according to federal authorities, when complaints from copyright owners and problems with payment service providers threatened to topple the unlawful operation.
“The defendants operated Jetflicks, an illicit streaming service they used to distribute hundreds of thousands of stolen television episodes,” principal deputy assistant attorney general Nicole Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, said in a June 20 statement. “Their scheme generated millions of dollars in criminal profits while causing copyright owners to lose out. These convictions underscore the Criminal Division’s commitment to protecting intellectual property rights by prosecuting digital piracy schemes and bringing offenders to justice.”
Karyn Temple, global general counsel and senior EVP of the Motion Picture Association referred to the decision as “a landmark victory for intellectual property rights.”
Temple referred to the Alliance for Creativity in Entertainment, a group of entertainment companies tasked with preventing piracy, saying, “The Motion Picture Association applauds the Department of Justice for its successful prosecution of five individuals who brazenly and illegally profited by infringing upon copyrighted works belonging to ACE.” “The jury’s conviction underscores the criminal nature of these types of offenses and the significant harms caused to the creative industry and the tens of thousands of workers who earn a living from key industry roles, including set designers, caterers, hair and makeup artists, and camera operators, to name a few.”
Federal authorities claim that Darryl Julius Polo, also known as “djppimp,” a former member of the original Jetflicks gang, left to start a rival website called iStreamItAll, whose subscription options cost $19.99 per month. According to regulators, iStreamItAll, like Jetflicks, lacked authorization to disseminate TV and movie content on the platform. According to the Justice Department, Polo entered a guilty plea to criminal copyright and money laundering allegations in 2019. He was given a 57-month prison term and ordered to give over $1 million in “criminal proceeds” in 2020.
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I believe in pirated media. Especially now since companies can take away the games you have purchased from them via their online stores on consoles. I think it was sony that recently said they would be removing a pile of games and media from their servers to make room for new stuff. Meaning users who have purchased those items would no longer be able to access them to play. So if buying something doesnt mean you own it, then downloading cannot be considered piracy.