Steven Mills, a 58-year-old man from Shrewsbury, has been sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison for running a large-scale illegal Premier League football streaming operation. The operation, which spanned five years, netted Mills over £1 million.
Mills was the brains behind a massive criminal operation that sold 'Firesticks' to fans, enabling them to watch live top-flight matches. He ran this illicit business through a private Facebook group, which he claimed had more than 30,000 subscribers.
The service, trading under the names Pikabox and Eyepeeteevee, provided primarily UK-based customers with a bespoke app and streaming devices, including Firesticks. These devices allowed users to watch a wide range of sports and entertainment content.
Behind the sophisticated operation
The Premier League described Mills' operation as 'sophisticated', noting that he took 'significant steps' to disguise his activities. These steps included posting bundles of cash to suppliers and operating under a number of aliases.
Mills also used Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) and created tutorial videos to assist his customers in accessing the illegal content. His content was also sold to a network of resellers, who are currently under investigation.
Kevin Plumb, of the Premier League general counsel, said:
"The sentence handed down by the crown court today once again clearly demonstrates the severity of piracy-related offences and the consequences that come with them.
"It is vital that the public continue to be made aware of the dangers and criminality associated with using illegal streaming services.
"We are aware that so-called “Firesticks” are being sold as a means of illegally accessing all kinds of content, and today’s judgment should remove any doubt that it is illegal and treated very seriously by the courts."
Kieron Sharp, CEO of FACT, said:
"FACT are committed to safeguarding the broadcast rights of our partners and we hope that the severity of the sentence sends out a clear message that piracy is a crime that is taken very seriously by the courts."
Investigation and conviction
Investigators from the Premier League, West Mercia Police, and anti-piracy organisation FACT managed to identify at least 1,000 of Mills' customers. In June this year, Mills pleaded guilty to multiple fraud offences at Shrewsbury Crown Court.
In addition to his sentence, Mills was also convicted of a separate offence for watching the illegal content he was supplying to others.
Following the investigation, police and FACT officials visited a number of customers who paid for the service. They served notices to these customers to cease illegal streaming activities with immediate effect.
Detective inspector Matt McNelis, from West Mercia Police, said:
"This was a great example of partners from law enforcement and industry coming together to have a profound effect on this type of criminality.
"It’s clear that no single agency alone can be as effective as closely coordinated teams working towards achieving an objective.
"The investigation, run by the force cyber crime unit, utilised sensitive tactics to increase the preventative messaging during the arrest phase before following up again with FACT to disrupt and educate others linked to Mills earlier this year."
This case serves as a stark reminder of the legal consequences of engaging in illegal streaming activities. It also highlights the ongoing efforts by sports organisations and law enforcement agencies to crack down on such operations.
For sports fans and sports betting fans, it underscores the importance of accessing content through legal and authorised channels.
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