This week, a federal jury in Las Vegas convicted five men for their involvement in running one of the largest unauthorized streaming services in the United States, generating millions in subscription revenue and causing significant harm to television program copyright owners.
Kristopher Dallmann, Douglas Courson, Felipe Garcia, Jared Jaurequi, and Peter Huber operated Jetflicks, an online subscription-based streaming service, starting as early as 2007. They used advanced computer scripts and software to collect illegal copies of television episodes from pirate websites, which they then hosted on Jetflicks servers. The group reproduced hundreds of thousands of copyrighted TV episodes without authorization, creating a catalog larger than those of Netflix, Hulu, Vudu, and Amazon Prime combined. Their illegal activities resulted in millions of dollars in revenue from tens of thousands of paid subscribers.
“The defendants operated Jetflicks, an illicit streaming service they used to distribute hundreds of thousands of stolen television episodes,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Their scheme generated millions of dollars in criminal profits, while causing copyright owners to lose out. These convictions underscore the Criminal Division’s commitment to protecting intellectual property rights by prosecuting digital piracy schemes and bringing offenders to justice.”
U.S. Attorney Jason M. Frierson for the District of Nevada stated, “The defendants conspired to operate an online streaming service that unlawfully reproduced and distributed thousands of copyrighted television programs for their own personal gain. 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.”
Assistant Director in Charge David Sundberg of the FBI Washington Field Office added, “The defendants ran a platform that automated the theft of TV shows and distributed the stolen content to subscribers. When complaints from copyright holders and problems with payment service providers threatened to topple the illicit multimillion-dollar enterprise, the defendants tried to disguise Jetflicks as an aviation entertainment company. Digital piracy is not a victimless crime. As these convictions demonstrate, the FBI will indeed investigate those who illegally profit from the creative works of others.”
The jury convicted Dallman, Courson, Garcia, Jaurequi, and Huber of conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement. Additionally, Dallmann was convicted 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, while Dallmann faces a maximum penalty of 48 years in prison. Sentencing has not yet been scheduled.
The FBI Washington Field Office, with assistance from the FBI Las Vegas Field Office, investigated the case.
