The U.S. Department of Justice, along with the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Washington DC field office, has announced the conviction of five men involved in the operation of Jetflicks, an illicit streaming service.
This service boasted a content library larger than those of Netflix, Hulu, Vudu, and Amazon Prime combined. The convicted individuals are Kristopher Dallmann, Douglas Courson, Felipe Garcia, Jared Jaurequi, and Peter Huber, who faced charges of conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement and other related crimes.
Jetflicks operated by using sophisticated computer scripts and software that scoured piracy websites to illegally download television episodes, which were then hosted on Jetflicks servers.
Starting operations in at least 2007, the service managed to operate beneath the radar by falsely representing itself to payment providers as an aviation entertainment company, as reported by Variety. This guise allowed Jetflicks to amass over 183,000 TV episodes, making it one of the largest catalogues available illegally.
Each of the men played distinct roles in the scheme, with Dallmann identified as the leader. His involvement led to additional convictions on two counts of money laundering by concealment. The legal ramifications for Dallmann include a potential sentence of up to 48 years in prison, reflecting the severity of his actions, while his co-conspirators face up to five years each.
The DOJ and FBI highlighted the extensive nature of the operation, noting that Jetflicks not only violated vast numbers of copyright laws but also generated millions of dollars in revenue from a subscription model that charged users $9.99 per month. FBI spokesperson David Sundberg commented on the case, stating, “Digital piracy is not a victimless crime,” and assured that the FBI remains dedicated to prosecuting those who illicitly profit off the works of others.
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