The boxes allowed customers to watch all the channels without paying for a subscription
A man has been jailed after he became a multi-millionaire selling dodgy TV boxes out of a storage unit.
Web designer Halton Mark Anthony Powell has been sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison after he was discovered to have sold thousands of boxes installed with channels such as Sky Sports, Sky Cinema, and Disney+.
The technology worked through a piece of software called ‘Droidsticks Wizard’ which allowed users to build their own group of add-ons to access subscription services without actually paying for them.
Between 2014 and March 2016, it is believed he made £2,344,949 from his illegal enterprise before an investigation was started in 2015 when an online marketplace reported that the boxes were being sold by an account owned by the company.
In April 2015, one of the boxes was then bought from a shop in Chingford, East London by an investigator from Sky.
1,300 boxes
The police arrested Powell shortly afterwards and found that he had 1,300 boxes in a storage unit as well as 121 boxes in a shop owned by Powell.
Essex Live claims that Powell refused to answer any questions during his police interview, answering ‘no comment’ to each one.
However, he did then admit supplying articles for use in fraud at Southwark Crown Court in August, for which he has now been sentenced.
PIPCU’s Detective Sergeant Peter Gartland said: “Powell attempted to hide the illegitimate nature of his business by concealing evidence that he was selling products pre-configured to stream Sky Sports and Sky Cinema.
“However, PIPCU officers were able to prove he was aware the set-top boxes were being used for this purpose by thousands of customers.
“It is vital to remember that watching premium content without a subscription is illegal – and enabling access to it can land you with a criminal record, as this case shows.”
Prison
Powell has now been sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison, as well as facing a confiscation hearing for any assets that he might have as proceeds of his crime.
Matt Hibbert, SKY’s director of anti-piracy for UK and Ireland, said: “We’d like to thank PIPCU for their support in bringing this case to a successful conclusion.
“The financial sums involved and the length of the sentence handed down today underline the seriousness of this type of criminality.
“We’ll continue to work with law enforcement and our industry partners to protect consumers and take action against those organisations intent on stealing our content.”
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