Illegal streaming gang ordered to repay £3.75m

Five members of a gang who were sent to prison for illegally streaming Premier League games have been ordered by the court to return their profits, worth £3.75m.

In May 2023, Mark Gould, described by the judge as the driving force behind the illegal streaming service Flawless TV, and four other members, were sentenced to more than 30 years in prison between them, in what was the world’s largest piracy sentencing.

Their business involved more than 50,000 customers and resellers, as well as 30 employees, with the operation generating in excess of £7m between 2016 and 2021.

Gould, originally sentenced to 11 years in prison, was this week ordered by Derby Crown Court to forfeit the proceeds of his criminal activities and return £2.35m within three months or face a further prison sentence of 10 years.

Similar proceedings have been instigated against four other defendants from the case who were ordered to pay back a total of more than £1.4m or also risk longer prison sentences.

The total sum of £3.75m is the second largest figure ordered in the UK against the operators of an illegal streaming service.

The money will be distributed back into the public purse with 50% to the Treasury and 50% to bodies involved in the prosecution, including the courts, the prosecuting authority and the financial investigators.

The sentencing and the subsequent confiscation proceeding came about after a rare private prosecution by the Premier League, supported by a number of organisations including Hammersmith & Fulham Council’s Trading Standards team and the intellectual property protection organisation, FACT.

“These confiscation proceedings demonstrate our determination to ensure those involved in providing illegal streaming services do not retain the profits from their criminal activity,” said Stefan Sergot, Premier League director of legal – enforcement.

“The sentences handed down, and the funds confiscated in these proceedings, vindicate the efforts made to bring these individuals to justice and reflect the severity and extent of the crimes.”

Doug Love, Principal Trading Standards Investigator at Hammersmith & Fulham Council added: “Anyone tempted to commit similar offences should be deterred by the record prison sentences and the size of the confiscation orders in this case.”