(Football news) The Premier League has said that five men have been arrested and convicted of conspiracy, defraud, money laundering and contempt of court after offering cut-price subscriptions of Premier League matches to over 50,000 people. Mark Gould from London, who was reportedly the mastermind of this operation has been sentenced to 11 years in prison while co-defenders Steven Gordon, Peter Jolley, William Brown and Christopher Felvus have also been arrested.
The Premier League has added that the illegal streaming business had 30 employees with one undercover at a specialist anti-piracy company. Brown has denied the offenses and has claimed to be an undercover informant, acting in the interests of law enforcement authorities and broadcasters. However, the 33 year old was unanimously convicted by a jury after a trial that took place across a seven week period. The Premier League said he used technical skills to hack accounts of legitimate customers to access and copy streams.
Premier League general counsel Kevin Plumb said “Today’s sentencing is the result of a long and complex prosecution of a highly sophisticated operation. The sentences handed down, which are the longest sentences ever issued for piracy-related crimes, vindicate the efforts made to bring these individuals to justice and reflect the severity and extent of the crimes. This prosecution is another concrete example of the clear links between piracy and wider criminality, a warning we repeatedly make.
“While most Premier League fans enjoy watching our games in a safe way, those who were customers of these services were effectively supporting individuals involved in other sinister and dangerous organised crime. The Premier League’s substantial financial contribution to the entire football pyramid is made possible through the ability to sell our broadcast rights.
“We are pleased that through rulings such as this, the courts continue to show that they recognise the importance of safeguarding the Premier League’s rights. We will continue to protect our rights and our fans by investigating and prosecuting illegal operators at all levels.”
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