Five people from Las Vegas have been sentenced after a federal jury found them guilty of copyright infringement related to the streaming service Jetflicks. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Jetflicks offered more TV episodes than any licensed streaming service, including Netflix and Hulu.
A group of five men has been sentenced for operating Jetflicks, a streaming service that used automated tools to gather and distribute pirated TV shows to tens of thousands of subscribers in the United States. The service made episodes available shortly after they aired, leading to widespread copyright violations. Kristopher Lee Dallmann received the longest sentence of 84 months in prison, while the others received sentences ranging from probation to 18 months. “This scheme generated millions of dollars in criminal profits, and hurt thousands of U.S. companies and individuals who owned the copyrights to these shows but never received a penny in compensation from Jetflicks,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti, as reported by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Jetflicks operated as a piracy network where members handled roles from management to customer support. Court records show the group caused about $37.5 million in copyright violations by reproducing and streaming copyrighted content. Five defendants were sentenced at trial, while Darryl Polo and Luis Villarino had earlier pleaded guilty and received prison terms of 57 months and 12 months and one day. Another defendant, Yoany Vaillant, is expected to be sentenced on September 4. The FBI’s Washington and Las Vegas Field Offices conducted the investigation, as stated by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
