Man jailed for more than three years for loading illegal streaming services on to Amazon Fire Sticks

A 29-year-old man has been jailed for more than three years for loading illicit TV streaming services onto Amazon Fire Sticks.

Jonathan Edge, from Liverpool, pleaded guilty to three offences under the Fraud Act.

He was sentenced to three years and four months in prison, which included a separate concurrent sentence of two years and three months for accessing and viewing the content he was supplying.

Edge ran a service uploading illegal services to Fire Stick devices in return for cash-in-hand payments at his home, Liverpool Crown Court heard.

He used Facebook advertising and word-of-mouth recommendations to run his operation.

He ignored multiple warnings about the illegal activity, which were referenced by the judge and treated as an aggravating factor in sentencing.

The prosecution was undertaken by the Premier League and supported by several other organisations, including FACT (Federation Against Copyright Theft) and Merseyside Police.

Kevin Plumb, Premier League general counsel, said: “The significant sentence handed down to the individual involved once again serves to highlight the severity of his actions.

“We will continue to pursue legal action against those supplying unauthorised access to Premier League football, regardless of the scale or mode of operation. Ignoring warnings to stop only served to make the consequences worse for the individual.”

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Detective Sergeant Steve Frame from Merseyside Police said: “Merseyside Police is committed to working in collaboration to investigate intellectual property theft and we welcome today’s sentence handed to Edge.

“Many people see no harm in illegally streaming TV services but they are wrong, and this outcome should serve as a further warning how seriously such copyright theft continues to be taken.”