It’s estimated that he put the entertainment industry at risk of losing £120 million by promoting unreleased films and TV shows on his website, including episodes of Game Of Thrones.
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Paul Mahoney, 29, made almost £300,000 from advertising revenue on illegal websites offering films and TV shows, many of which were yet be released.
Paul Mahoney, who’s 30, had pleaded guilty to two charges of conspiracy to defraud, one of acquiring criminal property and one of converting criminal property.
The 29-year-old, who is partially blind, was given a four-year sentence at the Crown Court in Derry, half of which will be spent in prison. I am puzzled to a degree as to why you did it’.
When police officers searched the home, where he lived with his parents, they found nearly £82,400 in cash hidden away.
Northern Ireland police were tipped off by anti-piracy trade group the Federation Against Copyright Theft.
But justice attorney Groome QC stated Mahoney was involved with a “advanced scam”.
The court heard that Mahoney first started his business in 2007, and over the next six years he changed his website name three further times in a bid to evade detection.
Despite the large revenue generated, money does not seem to have been a motivating factor in Mahoney’s crimes.
‘This constant and only companion during that period of time was in fact his computer, ‘ said Martin Rodgers QC in defense.
The court heard that the defendant’s visual impairment had led to bullying and turned him into a virtual recluse from his teenage years. Most of his earnings were from adverts that ran on the site.
Third party sites are unlawful because they facilitate the viewing by the public of secret copies of films.
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Detective Constable Yolande Healey told local news site Derry Now: “From his bedroom in Carnhill, Mahoney thought he could make money from advertisers who were attracted by the volume of traffic from across the world on his website”.
