Programmers plead guilty to running illegal TV streaming service that was bigger than Netflix
iStreamItAll offered more content than Netflix, Hulu, Vudu and Amazon Prime, the Justice Department said.
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The Department of Justice says two programmers pleaded guilty to running a massive illegal TV streaming service.
Two computer programmers pleaded guilty last week to criminal copyright charges for building and running two large, illegal TV and movie streaming sites, according to the US Department of Justice. IStreamItAll and Jetflicks were both online, subscription-based services headquartered in Las Vegas that allowed users to stream and download copyrighted content without the permission of the copyright owners.
iStreamItAll offered more content than Netflix, Hulu, Vudu and Amazon Prime, the Justice Department said.
On Thursday, Darryl Julius Polo of Las Vegas pleaded guilty to multiple counts of criminal copyright infringement and a count of money laundering. On Friday, co-defendant Luis Angel Villarino, also of Las Vegas, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit copyright infringement, according to a press release from the Justice Department. Both defendants will be sentenced in March 2020.
According to a plea agreement, Polo admitted to running iStreamItAll, which offered more than 118,479 different television episodes and 10,980 individual movies. Polo used computer programming to scan global pirate sites for new illegal content and to make that content available to subscribers to stream and download. Polo also ran other piracy services, and said he earned more than $1 million from these operations.
Both Polo and Villarino said they also worked as programmers at online streaming service Jetflicks.
The Department of Justice didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
