If a streaming service sounds too good to be true, it probably is. In the case of Jetflicks, it was too good to be legal.
A federal jury in Las Vegas has convicted five male defendants for their roles in a complex scheme to harvest popular TV shows and award-winning movies from pirate sites and bundle them into a streaming service called Jetflicks. This was stated in a statement by the Ministry of Justice on Thursday. According to the indictmentJetflicks operated as a subscription-based streamer that allowed users to watch and download copyrighted TV shows and movies without permission from the copyright owners.
“The defendants operated Jetflicks, an illegal streaming service that they used to distribute hundreds of thousands of stolen television episodes,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s criminal division. in the statement. According to the Department of Justice, the group stole thousands of copyrighted television episodes, creating a mountain of content larger than “the combined catalogs of Netflix, Hulu, Vudu and Amazon Prime.”
For a $10 monthly subscription fee, users could watch the show on multiple devices and platforms within days of new episodes appearing on legitimate services and channels, authorities said.
“The defendants operated a platform that automated the theft of TV shows and distributed the stolen content to subscribers,” FBI Washington Field Office Assistant Director David Sundberg said this in a statement..
The five are Christopher Dallmann, Douglas Courson, Felipe Garcia, Jared Jaureki and Peter Huber. The indictment alleges that employees obtained content from pirate sites such as SickRage (also known as SickChill), Sick Beard, SABnzbd and TheTVDB and offered it to subscribers in one place. At one point, Jetflicks said it had over 37,000 paid users and 183,200 TV episodes. Authorities estimate that monetary damages to program owners amount to millions.
Like legitimate businesses, Jetflicks eventually ran into problems such as subscribers sharing logins and passwords, authorities allege in the indictment. Officials also said the group tried to disguise the site as an entertainment service for airline passengers after facing incoming demands to remove unlicensed content.
“When copyright holder complaints and problems with payment service providers threatened to shut down the illegal multimillion-dollar enterprise, defendants attempted to disguise Jetflicks as an aviation entertainment company,” Sundberg said.
And, as in the world of legitimate business, about seven years after Jetflicks was founded, one of the group split away to launch a new, competing venture. officials said.
Darryl Julius Polo, known as djppimp, launched iStreamItAll, which allowed users to watch and download TV shows and movies, the indictment says. iStreamItAll (ISIA) subscription plans had a monthly fee of $19.99, as well as quarterly, semi-annual and annual options. As with Jetflicks, ISIA did not have permission to provide the content, officials said. Polo, a computer programmer, pleaded guilty in 2019. one count of conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement and one count of criminal copyright infringement. POlo was sentenced to 4.75 years in prison. and ordered to pay $1 million.
Jetflicks also had its own organizational structure, authorities said. Dallman led operations, while Courson and Horecki helped with management, including strategic decisions, hiring and interactions with suppliers and payment processors. Programming and coding were handled by Dallman, Polo and Huber, who wrote and edited computer scripts for the website and mobile applications. The group also provided web design, user interface and technical assistance, authorities said.
In 2016, an undercover agent broadcast an episode of a science fiction series. OA, which aired on Netflix, according to the indictment. The agent also downloaded two episodes of the dystopian series. 12 monkeyswhich caused the series to be distributed without the permission of the copyright holder, authorities write.
Courson, Garcia, Jaureca and Huber face a maximum sentence of five years in prison, while Dallmann faces a maximum sentence of 48 years in prison, according to the Justice Department. A sentencing date has not been set.