Picture Credit: Premier League
The convicted criminal in the case of providing illegal access to live streaming of thousands of Premier League matches has been found guilty and thus has been ordered to repay nearly £1 million or risk a further six years and eight months in prison. Steven King, who was the main brain behind the fraud {trading under the names Dreambox (unincorporated), Dreambox TV Limited, and Digital Switchover Limited} was jailed for seven years and four months in 2019.
A Warwick Crown Court on Monday ordered King to put an end to his criminal activities and repay Premier League £963,000 within three months. In case King fails to repay the amount in the designated time, he will have to serve an extra eighty months in prison. The convict has also been ordered by the court to hand over his passport within 28 days and is banned from traveling abroad until the sum has been paid.
Notably, King along with his allies Paul Rolston and Daniel Malone ran a pirate streaming organization that supplied illegal access to Premier League matches to more than 1,000 pubs, clubs, and homes in England and Wales for around a decade. While Rolston was sentenced to six years and four months, Malone got three years and three months. This is believed to be some of the longest ever issued for piracy-related crimes. The three culprits are believed to have earned around £5million through their illegal piracy scheme.
Premier League has requested the money to go to public purse
As the court has ordered a hefty sum to be paid back by the culprits, Premier League has requested the money to go to the public purse. Premier League general counsel Kevin Plumb said, “This result clearly shows that supplying illegal streams is a criminal offence leading to prison sentences and significant financial consequences.
“We are pleased the courts have recognised the seriousness of piracy-related crimes and the Premier League has requested all money recovered goes back to public bodies, including law enforcement agencies, to help them continue the fantastic work they do in helping bring people like this to justice,” he added.