LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – A federal jury in Las Vegas convicted five men for their roles in running one of the largest unauthorized streaming services in the United States, which generated millions of dollars in subscription revenue while causing substantial harm to television program copyright owners.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, beginning as early as 2007, Kristopher Dallmann, Douglas Courson, Felipe Garcia, Jared Jaurequi, and Peter Huber operated an online, subscription-based streaming service known as Jetflicks. The Jetflicks group used sophisticated computer scripts and software to scour pirate websites for illegal copies of television episodes, which they then downloaded and hosted on Jetflicks servers.
The group reproduced hundreds of thousands of copyrighted television episodes without authorization, amassing a catalog larger than the combined catalogs of Netflix, Hulu, Vudu, and Amazon Prime. Dallmann and his co-conspirators made millions of dollars streaming and distributing this catalog of stolen content to tens of thousands of paid subscribers.
“The defendants conspired to operate an online streaming service that unlawfully reproduced and distributed thousands of copyrighted television programs for their own personal gain,” said U.S. Attorney Jason M. Frierson for the District of Nevada. “This case is another example of our steadfast commitment to combat intellectual property theft and to hold accountable those who violate intellectual property rights laws.”
The jury convicted Dallman, Courson, Garcia, Jaurequi, and Huber of conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement. The jury also convicted Dallmann of two counts of money laundering by concealment and three counts of misdemeanor criminal copyright infringement.
Courson, Garcia, Jaurequi, and Huber each face a maximum penalty of five years in prison, and Dallmann faces a maximum penalty of 48 years in prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. The FBI Washington Field Office investigated the case, with assistance from the FBI Las Vegas Field Office.
Trial Attorneys Michael Christin, Christopher Merriam, and Matthew Lamberti of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jessica Oliva and Edward Veronda for the District of Nevada are prosecuting the case, with assistance from the CCIPS Paralegal Edie Britman.
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