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PRESS RELEASE: OPERATOR OF MAJOR ILLEGAL STREAMING SERVICE JAILED

AAPA

18th July 2018

Evolution Trading owner John Haggerty jailed for five years by Newcastle Crown Court for facilitating illegal access to Premier League football

The owner and operator of a major pirate streaming service, and mass supplier of illicit streaming devices that provided illegal access to Premier League football, has been jailed for five years and three months.

Mr John Haggerty, the owner of Evolution Trading, appeared in Newcastle Crown Court on Friday 13 July 2018 for sentencing after pleading guilty to conspiracy to defraud and dishonestly obtaining services for another, contrary to the Fraud Act.

His conviction further underlines the fact that supplying these devices and other pirate services is illegal. The case is also the first example of the Courts confirming what the UK Government has already made clear - that using the devices themselves is illegal, with the Judge expressly warning that Mr Haggerty put all his thousands of customers at risk of prosecution.

Evolution Trading, run by Mr Haggerty and his wife Mary Gilfillan who was also convicted of fraud offences in this case and given a two-year suspended sentence, sold more than 8,000 illegal devices that were loaded with add-ons to enable publicans and consumers to view illegal streams of Premier League football. Evolution also created and sold access to its own illegal streaming service - infusum.tv - to thousands of customers.

Between March 2013 and July 2015, the operators of Evolution generated more than £750,000 through their illegal activity.

The criminal activity carried out by Mr Haggerty went beyond selling access to illegal content: he had multiple passports in different names, set up an offshore ‘dummy company' in Nevis to hide the true purpose of his business and, in collusion with his wife Ms. Gilfillan, supplied the Immigration Service with false documents to sponsor an Egyptian national who maintained the illegal streaming service for the company.

During the investigation it transpired that Mr Haggerty previously spent time in prison in the US between 2009 to 2012 following a serious fraud conviction.

Premier League Director of Legal Services, Kevin Plumb, said: "This case demonstrates how seriously the Courts are dealing with criminals involved in the supply of illicit streaming devices and services that provide illegal access to Premier League football and other popular content.

"The fact that a major supplier was engaged in so much criminal behaviour - from using multiple passports in different names to lying to the Immigration Service - should be a warning to the authorities and consumers about the types of people involved in this activity. It also serves as a reminder to people that they take huge risks by handing over bank details and personal data to rogue operators like Evolution and infusum.tv.

"The Premier League is currently engaged in one of the biggest and most successful anti-piracy programmes in the World and its own investigations, along with those by Northumberland Trading Standards and FACT, have helped bring these criminals to justice.

"The ability that Premier League clubs have to develop and acquire talented players, to build and improve stadiums and to support communities and schools, is predicated on being able to market, sell and protect commercial rights. This makes the protection of our copyright hugely important to the future health of English football and beyond, something we are pleased the Courts continue to recognise with judgments like this one."

Kieron Sharp, CEO of FACT, said: "This sentencing is another step forward in the right direction to tackling the issue of illegal streaming.

"We will continue to work with The Premier League, Industry and Law Enforcement Agencies across the UK to clampdown on the sale of illicit streaming devices as they pose a real threat to the creative industries, the UK economy and the livelihoods of the 1.9 million people working behind the scenes of our favourite sport, TV and film.

"The public should be aware that selling devices or subscriptions that allow access to premium content you normally pay for is illegal.

"Similarly using one of these methods to stream premium TV, sports and films for which you should have an official subscription is also breaking the law."

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AAPA Honours Law Enforcement Agencies with Annual Awards for Excellence in Copyright Enforcement

by AAPA • 19 December 2024

Date, Brussels, Belgium The Audiovisual Anti-Piracy Alliance (AAPA) is proud to announce the recipients of its annual awards, celebrating exceptional contributions by law enforcement agencies in combatting online piracy and protecting intellectual property in the audiovisual sector. This year’s honorees have demonstrated exemplary efforts in the investigation, enforcement, and dismantling of illegal content distribution networks that undermine the creative industries. The AAPA Annual Awards recognize agencies whose proactive strategies and collaborative actions have significantly advanced copyright enforcement online. These awards reflect the growing importance of international cooperation in addressing the evolving and sophisticated tactics used by piracy networks. Oliver Pribramsky, Co-President of AAPA , praised the recipients of the awards, saying: "We are honoured to recognise the outstanding work of these administrative and law enforcement agencies. Online piracy remains one of the most significant challenges facing the audiovisual industry, costing billions in lost revenue each year and threatening jobs across the sector. The dedication and innovation displayed by our award winners not only protect the industry but also reinforce the critical role that law enforcement plays in safeguarding intellectual property in the digital age." Award Recipients This year’s AAPA Awards for Excellence in Copyright Enforcement are presented to: 1. Lifetime achievement Award for Sheila Cassells: On behalf of all AAPA members and stakeholders from all spectrums of the industry, we would like to thank Sheila for her loyalty and friendship over the last 14 years where she transformed AAPA into the organisation it is today and honour her remarkable achievements and lifelong dedication to the fight against audiovisual piracy with this Lifetime Achievement Award.

AAPA MEMBERS JOIN FORCES WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT IN THE WORLD’S LARGEST-EVER OPERATION AGAINST AUDIOVISUAL PIRACY

by AAPA • 27 November 2024

The Audiovisual Anti-Piracy Alliance (AAPA) has supported the Catania Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Croatian State Attorney Office for Suppression of Corruption and Organised Crime and law enforcement agencies in Italy, Switzerland, Sweden, Croatia and England in dismantling the world’s largest transnational criminal organisation alleged to be serving pirated audiovisual content to over 22 million users, and generating over 250 million euros in illegal revenue per month. The operation, conducted yesterday, was coordinated by Europol and Eurojust and involved over 270 officers from the Polizia Postale carrying out 89 property searches in 15 Italian regions. An additional 14 searches were conducted by law enforcement agencies abroad, including five addresses in England, and further searches and seizures in the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, Romania, France, Bulgaria, Germany and Croatia. 11 people were arrested by the Cybercrime Division of the Croatian Police. During yesterday's searches, cryptocurrencies in excess of EUR 1,650,000 and cash in excess of EUR 40,000 were seized as alleged proceeds of the offences committed. These immediately seized proceeds represent only a fraction of an illegal business that is alleged to yield approximately EUR 3 billion per annum. Digital piracy harms the entertainment and creative industries across the continent and is often run by sophisticated criminal networks that may use their profits to fund other serious forms of criminal activity. At the same time, illegal streams can expose the end user to the risks of data theft, fraud and malware. Mark Mulready, Co-president of AAPA, said: “We applaud the efforts of the Catania Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Croatian State Attorney Office for Suppression of Corruption and Organised Crime, Europol, Eurojust, and all of the law enforcement agencies involved in these operations. The scale of these multi-jurisdictional law enforcement actions highlights the considerable challenge our industry faces when dealing with such sophisticated international pirate networks. We are proud to have collaborated with our law enforcement partners to provide technical training and in-field support to assist them in successfully tackling the world’s largest pirate network. We are very grateful to the AAPA members who supported this action day, including Premier League, Sky Group, Nagravision, Deutsche Fußball Liga (DFL), beIN Sports, United Media, Friend MTS and Irdeto. We will continue to closely collaborate with law enforcement agencies in Europe and beyond to enable them to successfully identify, investigate and prosecute large-scale cross-border pirate networks.” ---------- AAPA contact: Mark Mulready +31651246415 Co-President AAPA Miranda Rock +44 7957 391 498 Rocket Launch for AAPA

Audiovisual Anti-Piracy Alliance 2024-2029 EU Manifesto

by AAPA • 1 October 2024

The Audiovisual Anti-Piracy Alliance (AAPA) publishes its first Manifesto, linked here . The document aims to recognise past efforts of EU legislators when it comes to content protection and the fight against copyright infringement, whilst admitting that more can and should be done to address this growing issue. Miruna Herovanu, Executive Director of AAPA said : " After years of laying the groundwork to combat online piracy it’s time for EU policymakers and beyond to fully acknowledge that decisive, targeted measures are needed at the European level. The rise of digital theft demands action. We call for strong political resolve to end the theft of our members' content. We're ready to support every stakeholder—law enforcement, policymakers, and industry representatives—to dismantle criminal networks and protect European consumers from harm."

AAPA ANNOUNCES NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

by AAPA • 28 May 2024

The Audiovisual Anti-Piracy Alliance (AAPA) has announced the appointment of Miruna Herovanu as its Executive Director. Miruna was previously the Director at the Association of Commercial Television and Video on Demand in Europe in charge of Intellectual Property and Competition policies. She took up her position with AAPA on 27 May 2024 and will be based in Brussels. Miruna will replace Sheila Cassells who is retiring as Executive Vice President of AAPA and will report on a day-to-day basis to the two Co-Presidents, Mark Mulready, VP of Cyber Services at Irdeto and Oliver Pribramksy, Head of IP Protection and Committees at the Deutsche Fussball Liga. She will be responsible for the implementation of the strategy agreed by AAPA members, managing relationships with law enforcement agencies such as Europol, Eurojust, INTERPOL and the European Institutions, delivery of AAPA’s Working Group goals and general management of the Alliance. Mark Mulready said that: “We are delighted to appoint someone of Miruna’s calibre and experience to become the Executive Director of AAPA. Miruna’s commitment to copyright protection is well-known. Her knowledge of the Brussels institutions and the EUIPO will stand AAPA in good stead for future policy developments. A priority will be for Miruna to work closely with AAPA members, the EUIPO and the European Institutions to deliver on, inter alia, the goals of combatting online piracy of sports and other live events recommendation.” Miruna Herovanu commented that: “My professional experience demonstrated that piracy is an ever-growing issue that eats at the heart of Europe’s most important industries. This is a golden opportunity and a new professional challenge that will help further develop my passion for and commitment to protecting copyright. Being able to work with and support industry experts and practitioners in AAPA, law enforcement, the European Institutions and other trade associations is essential to the fight against piracy. I am excited to be taking on this role.”