New warning to dodgy Fire Stick users after huge sentences passed to sellers

Five members of a gang who were jailed after their illegal streaming empire was rumbled by police have been ordered to hand over the millions that they profited.

Derby Crown Court has ordered ringleader Mark Gould and four other fraudsters to return their ill gotten gains - and if they don't, several more years will be added to their sentences.

The group made their fortune, which is said to have amounted to around £7million, from flogging subscriptions for £10-per-month so football fans could catch games that aren't aired live in the UK.

And in wake of the recent ruling in regards to Gould and his associates, the Premier League has issued a fresh warning to dodgy Fire Stick sellers - and users ought to listen up too.

In 2021, police shut down the illegal streaming service Flawless, which was oversaw by Gould, after it enjoyed a profitable five-year run.

The illicit business boasted 30 employees, while more than 50,000 customers and resellers were entangled in it.

The gang behind it were prosecuted and each ordered to spend to a significant number of years behind bars.

The Premier League has issued a fresh warning to those running illegal streaming rackets (Getty Stock Image)

The fivesome were sentenced to more than 30 years in prison combined after being convicted of providing illegal access to Premier League matches.

It's been described as the 'world’s largest ever piracy sentencing' to have taken place so far.

Gould, who led the operation, was originally sentenced to 11 years in prison - but if he doesn't cough up some cash, he could be looking at an even longer stretch.

Last week, Derby Crown Court ordered him to hand over £2.35million within three months, or face another 10 years locked up.

The other four gang members have also been instructed to forfeit the profits of their criminal activity, amounting to more than £1.4million.

Like Gould, they have been warned that their prison sentences will be extended if they do not comply with the confiscation order.

The total sum, £3.75million, is the 'second-largest figure ever ordered in the UK against the operators of an illegal streaming service', the Premier League said.

Mark Gould was arrested at his flat in Greenwich, London in 2018 (BBC/Premier League)

Once the money is in the right hands, it will be distributed into the public purse through the Treasury, courts and relevant law enforcement bodies.

The Premier League waged a private prosecution against Gould's gang along with Hammersmith & Fulham Council’s Trading Standards team and the intellectual property protection organisation, FACT.

Both the original case and the recent developments in regards to retrieving the monetary rewards reaped by those at the helm of the illegal streaming service were a result of this.

Stefan Sergot, the Premier League's director of Legal - Enforcement, warned that it is taking a hardline approach to criminals flogging dodgy devices.

"These confiscation proceedings demonstrate our determination to ensure those involved in providing illegal streaming services do not retain the profits from their criminal activity," he said.

"The sentences handed down, and the funds confiscated in these proceedings, vindicate the efforts made to bring these individuals to justice and reflect the severity and extent of the crimes."

Doug Love, Principal Trading Standards Investigator at Hammersmith & Fulham Council also added: "Anyone tempted to commit similar offences should be deterred by the record prison sentences and the size of the confiscation orders in this case."