Five Men Convicted for Operating Jetflicks an Illegal Streaming Service
A federal jury in Las Vegas has convicted five men for their involvement in operating Jetflicks, one of the largest illegal streaming services in the United States.
The service, which charged $9.99 per month for access to a vast library of TV episodes, generated millions of dollars in subscription revenue and caused significant harm to television program copyright owners.
In 2019, Kristopher Dallmann, Douglas Courson, Felipe Garcia, Jared Jaurequi, and Peter Huber were charged with conspiring to violate federal criminal copyright law. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, the group began operating Jetflicks as early as 2007.
They used sophisticated computer scripts and software to scour piracy services, including the Pirate Bay and Torrentz, for illegal copies of TV episodes, which they then downloaded and hosted on Jetflicks’ servers.
The jury found all five men guilty of conspiring to commit criminal copyright infringement. In addition, Dallmann was also convicted of two counts charge of money laundering by concealment and three counts charge of misdemeanour criminal copyright infringement. Dallmann faces a maximum sentence of 48 years in prison, while Courson, Garcia, Jaurequi, and Huber each face a maximum of five years in prison.
A sentencing date has not yet been set for the five men. The Justice Department has emphasized the importance of protecting intellectual property rights by prosecuting digital piracy schemes and bringing offenders to justice.
The convictions underscore the significant harm caused by illegal streaming services like Jetflicks. The service’s massive library of TV episodes, which included over 183,200 episodes, was larger than the combined catalogs of Netflix, Hulu, Vudu, and Amazon Prime Video.
The service’s illegal activities generated millions of dollars in criminal profits, causing significant financial losses for television program copyright owners.
Comparison to iStreamItAll
Darryl Julius Polo, also known as “djppimp,” was a former member of the original Jetflicks group who went on to create a rival site called iStreamItAll. Similar to Jetflicks, iStreamItAll distributed TV and movie content without permission.
In the same year, Darryl Julius Polo, also known as “djppimp,” pleaded guilty to criminal copyright infringement and money laundering charges. He was sentenced to 57 months in prison and ordered to forfeit $1 million in “criminal proceeds.”
The convictions of the five men involved in Jetflicks serve as a reminder of the importance of protecting intellectual property rights in the digital age.
The illegal activities of Jetflicks and similar services not only harm copyright owners but also undermine the legitimacy of legal streaming services and the entertainment industry as a whole.
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