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23 September 2021CopyrightAlex Baldwin

YouTuber indicted in ‘massive’ $34m TV piracy plot

A recently unsealed indictment has accused a prominent YouTuber and two associates of operating a $34 million cable TV piracy scheme.

According to an announcement from the US Department of Justice (DoJ) released on Wednesday, three men, including Bill Omar Carrasquillo, a YouTuber with 72 million+ views, have been identified as the operators of the “massive” copyright theft scheme.

The infringing service went by the names Reboot, Gears Tv, Reloaded, and Gears Reloaded throughout its lifetime, the indictment filed with the US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania claims.

Carrasquillo and his associates would illegally obtain cable TV services from Comcast, Verizon, Charter Communications and DirecTV and many others and resell them for a profit.

The millions of dollars generated from the service were used to fund the purchase of “several homes and vehicles” that featured on Carrasquillo’s “ Omi in a Hellcat” YouTube channel, according to the DoJ announcement.

When Federal agents attempted to seize these items Carrasquillo made false statements and attempted to hide some of his vehicles.

“We take seriously schemes for profit that infringe upon copyrights,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Polite Jr of the Justice department’s criminal division. “The charges announced today demonstrate the department’s continuing commitment to protect copyright holders from theft.”

The scheme reportedly ran for several years, having estimated to have started in March 2016 through to at least November 2019.

Piracy proceedings

The indictment, first filed on September 16 and unsealed on Wednesday 22 September, accused the three men of conspiracy to commit copyright infringement, violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, reproduction and performance of protected works, wire fraud, money laundering among other counts.

If convicted, Carrasquillo could face up to 514 years imprisonment, his associates Jesse Gonzales and Michael Barone could face up to 244 years and 130 years respectively.

All defendants were arrested on Tuesday and Barone made his first court in Pennsylvania appearance on Wednesday, according to the DoJ announcement.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) criminal investigation team are investigating the case.

This announcement is the latest in a crackdown of “serial mass infringers” who have run several pirate TV subscription services.

In July, a consortium of several of the world’s largest media companies, including Disney, Netflix, Amazon and Universal, filed a lawsuit against Jason Tusa, the alleged operator of the once “largest stand-alone” internet protocol television (IPTV) service at the time it was operating.

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