Mastermind of £7m Premier League streaming fraud busted in his pyjamas.
Mark Gould and five others streamed Premier League matches live to around 50,000 subscribers paying £10 per month – but he will now spend 11 years behind bars as a result.
A bloke who was the mastermind behind a £7million Premier League streaming scam was busted by police in his pyjamas, new images have revealed.
The orchestrator of a £7 million scam involving the illegal streaming of Premier League matches has been apprehended by the police in a rather peculiar fashion, as newly released images reveal. Mark Gould, the mastermind behind the operation, was arrested in his upscale Greenwich flat in London back in 2018, and has now been sentenced to 11 years in prison.
Working alongside five accomplices, Gould streamed live Premier League matches to a large subscriber base of approximately 50,000 passionate football fans from across the globe. Charging a mere £10 per month, the gang managed to accumulate a staggering £7 million in revenue from their illicit activities. This stands in stark contrast to the rates charged by Sky, which demands roughly £18 for just one sports channel on a monthly basis.
During the recent hearing held at Chesterfield Crown Court on May 30, Gould was convicted on charges of conspiracy to defraud, money laundering, and contempt of court. It was during this hearing that footage of his arrest was presented, revealing Gould seated on a plush couch in his pajamas.
While Gould faces a significant prison term, his co-conspirators Steven Gordon, Peter Jolley, William Brown, and Christopher Felvus received sentences ranging from three to five years. Notably, Felvus was also found guilty of voyeurism and possession of indecent images of children, which were discovered on his computer. The sixth member of the gang, Zak Smith, failed to appear in court, resulting in a warrant being issued for his arrest.
The Premier League's general counsel, Kevin Plumb, remarked on the case, emphasizing the extensive efforts made to prosecute this highly sophisticated operation. Plumb stated that the severity and magnitude of the crimes were reflected in the record-breaking sentences, the longest ever issued for piracy-related offenses. He further emphasized the interconnections between piracy and broader criminal activities, cautioning that individuals supporting such services indirectly contribute to sinister and dangerous organized crime.
Recently, there has been increasing pressure on the Premier League to abolish the 3 pm Saturday blackout and allow fans to watch all live games on television. This would bring the UK in line with most other countries, where viewers have access to a greater number of live Premier League matches. However, Plumb asserted that the Premier League's substantial financial contributions to the football pyramid were made possible through the sale of broadcast rights. He expressed satisfaction with the court's recognition of the importance of protecting these rights and affirmed the league's commitment to investigating and prosecuting illegal operators at all levels in order to safeguard the rights of fans and the integrity of the game.
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