LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — One of the biggest illegal streaming operations the U.S. has ever seen was run out of a home in Las Vegas.
Now, years after the government arrested those running it, those five men were sentenced in federal court. The reported ringleader will spend seven years in prison.
Jetflicks, an illegal paid streaming service had more television episodes than any licensed streaming service, according to the Justice Department.
The scheme generated millions of dollars while violating thousands of copyrights. It was run out of a Las Vegas home near Eastern and Desert Inn.
Some of the equipment used, according to court documents, dozens of phones and computers. The defendants utilized automated software and computer scripts that ran constantly to scour sites around the world for pirated content. At one point, Jetflicks claimed to have more than 180,000 television episodes.
According to prosecutors, this was the largest internet piracy case ever to go to trial in the U.S. They say the defendants’ harmed every major copyright owner of a television program in the United States.
Conservatively, the government estimates the value of the copyright infringement in this case: $37.5 million.
According to government officials, tens of thousands of paid Jetflicks subscribers in both the United States and Canada had access the day after the shows originally aired on television.
A federal jury in Nevada convicted five men from Las Vegas of conspiracy to commit copyright infringement.
Their sentences vary by involvement:
- Kristopher Lee Dallman, 84 months
- Peter h. Huber, 18 months
- Jared Edward Jauregui, 5 months, 180 days home confinement, community service
- Felipe Garcia, 3 years’ probation, 49 days in prison, community service
- Douglas M. Courson, 3 years’ probation with 48 days in prison
The five defendants sentenced were among eight originally indicted in Virginia in connection with operating Jetflicks.
In addition to the defendants in Nevada, two men in Virginia were also convicted for playing a role.
Another defendant in Nevada, Yoany Vaillant, was tried separately from the other five. Last fall, Vaillant was also convicted of conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement.
He is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 4.
