Four fraudsters who made hundreds of thousands of pounds from illegally streaming TV channels including Sky and BT Sports have been jailed for more than 10 years.

The four individuals were sentenced on Friday, March 18 at Southampton Crown Court after being convicted of charges in connection with the illicit streaming and laundering of the considerable proceeds.

This follows a detailed investigation led by Hampshire County Council’s Trading Standards officers, who worked in collaboration with FACT, which investigates intellectual property crime, and National Trading Standards.

The four individuals received the following sentences:

• Michael James Simmonds, 45, of Bridge Road, Bursledon, was sentenced for Participating in business for a Fraudulent Purpose and Money Laundering. He received five years and six months imprisonment on each charge to run concurrently. He'll have to serve half the sentence in custody with the remainder served on licence

• Kieran Collins, 38, of Beccles Road, Great Yarmouth, was sentenced for Participating in business for a Fraudulent Purpose and Money Laundering. He was handed thee years imprisonment on each to run concurrently. He'll also have to serve half his sentence in custody with the remainder served on licence

• Amanda Collins, 37, of Beccles Road, Great Yarmouth, was sentenced for money laundering and will serve 18 months imprisonment suspended for 2 years. She's further required to conduct 200 hours of unpaid work

• Robert Kurian, 46, of Mascalls Way, Chelmsford, was sentenced for Money Laundering and given 8 months imprisonment suspended for 2 years. He too is required to conduct some 180 hours of unpaid work

Confiscation proceedings have also been concluded against three of the quartet:

• Kieran Collins was found to have benefited to the sum of £329,239.51 and was ordered to pay £15,399.59

• Amanda Collins gained £80,000 from the streaming enterprise and was ordered to pay £59,698.07

• Kurian was found to have made of £21,039.06 and was ordered to pay a nominal amount of £1

• Confiscation proceedings have been initiated against Simmonds

Councillor Edward Heron, Hampshire County Council’s executive member for Recreation, Heritage and Rural Affairs, said: "Our trading standards officers are active in many areas, and often work in collaboration with other agencies, pooling expertise and skills to detect and pursue those who seek to defraud Hampshire residents. This successful prosecution in collaboration with FACT has helped to ensure that legitimate providers of digital content are supported, and crucially, that consumers are protected from downloading unregulated content. Illegal distribution of content presents significant risks – including children being easily exposed to explicit or age-inappropriate content, as well as people being exposed to malicious software and their data being misused. Other dangers might include electrical safety if adapted streaming devices don’t meet important required standards.”

Kieron Sharp, Chief Executive of FACT, added: “I would like to thank Hampshire County Council Trading Standards for taking on this case following an initial investigation by FACT, assisted by National Trading Standards. The individuals sentenced were involved in running a criminal enterprise that generated substantial profits with no regard for the rights of content owners. FACT continues to pursue those operating illegal streaming services who risk criminal convictions and forfeiture of assets.”