Man jailed over £1m illegal streaming operation

A man who made £1m from running three illegal streaming sites has been jailed for just over three years.

Stephen Woodward, 36, sold customers illegal access to films, music and thousands of TV channels, including premium sports content, over seven years.

York Crown Court heard he had spent the cash he pocketed on designer clothes, holidays and a £91,000 Jaguar car.

Woodward, of Front Street in Thirsk, sent £126,000 of the illegal funds to his brother Christopher Woodward, 34, who received a suspended prison term for money laundering.

An investigation by the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) at City of London Police found that subscriptions to the illegal sites were paid for via cards.

The court heard Stephen Woodward had bought false identities online to set up numerous PayPal and bank accounts.

He would then exchange the money into cryptocurrency, convert it back to flat currency and deposit it across 23 bank accounts, in order to disguise where the cash came from.

He was arrested in November 2019 for setting up illegal website IPTV Hosting and police seized a computer, phones and cash from his home.

Despite this, he continued his operation, later setting up Helix Hosting and Black and White TV.

In November 2020, Stephen Woodward was arrested by British Transport Police at King's Cross Station on suspicion of money laundering, after a staff member at Thirsk Station saw him place a carrier bag behind a grit bin and then board a train to London.

The staff member checked the contents of the bag and, upon finding it contained £20,000, alerted police.

In October 2022, Stephen was detained by Border Force officers at Gatwick while attempting to board a flight to Vancouver.

Three bundles of cash, worth a total of £10,870, were seized from his luggage.

On 21 February, Stephen pleaded guilty to distributing articles infringing copyright and four money laundering offences.

At the same hearing, his brother Christopher Woodward pleaded guilty to money laundering.

Sentencing Stephen on Friday, Judge Sean Morris said his crime was "one of greed" and his brother would not be in court if not for him.

He sentenced him to three years and one month in prison.

Christopher Woodward, of Dalton Moor in Thirsk, was sentenced to 15 months imprisonment, suspended for 12 months, and must also complete 240 hours of unpaid work.

The judge told him: "You are not here because of a brilliant idea you had, you are here because you stupidly got involved with your brother."

Det Con Daryl Fryatt, from the PIPCU, said: "Illegal streaming weakens the creative industries by diverting money away from legitimate businesses and into the hands of criminals like Stephen Woodward.

"Lost revenue as a result of illegal streaming means fewer jobs and less investment in future opportunities.

"It's estimated that this criminal activity contributes to over 80,000 job losses each year alone."

He added that despite being the subject of a criminal investigation, Stephen Woodward yet again attempted to gain financially from his illegal activity.

"His sentencing and upcoming confiscation proceedings should send a message that there are significant consequences for criminals who enable illegal access to copyrighted content," Det Con Fryatt said.

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