The Motion Picture Association (MPA) commends the U.S. District Court in Nevada for sentencing Kristopher Dallmann, the lead operator of the illegal streaming service Jetflicks, to 84 months in prison. Dallmann’s sentencing follows his June 2024 trial where he and four other men were convicted on multiple counts of conspiracy to commit copyright infringement. The jury also convicted Dallmann of criminal copyright infringement and money laundering.

Jetflicks was once one of the largest illegal streaming services in the United States and generated millions of dollars selling unauthorized access to hundreds of thousands of movies and TV shows. The defendants continued operating their piracy services even after the MPA had sent them a cease-and-desist letter and multiple app stores had repeatedly removed the Jetflicks app for copyright infringement. In 2019, they were indicted by federal authorities.

The MPA is grateful for the work of the Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and participating law enforcement agencies on this landmark success, which protects the rights of content creators and sends a message to piracy operators around the world about the potential consequences they face.

“The MPA applauds the sentencing of Kristopher Dallmann, the criminal operator behind a notorious online piracy ring,” said Larissa Knapp, Executive Vice President and Chief Content Protection Officer of the MPA. “Digital piracy is a global threat that steals the significant economic benefits provided by our industry and puts everyday consumers at risk of malware and identify theft. This sentencing is a crucial development that helps deter piracy and protect the U.S. economy.”

About The Motion Picture Association

The Motion Picture Association, Inc. (MPA) serves as the global voice and advocate of the motion picture, home video, and television industries. It works in every corner of the globe to advance the creative industry, protect its members’ content across all screens, defend the creative and artistic freedoms of storytellers, and support innovative distribution models that bring an expansion of viewing choices to audiences around the world. Its member studios are Netflix Studios LLC, Paramount Pictures Corporation, Prime Video & Amazon MGM Studios, Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. Universal City Studios LLC, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, and Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Charles Rivkin is Chairman and CEO.

This article was originally published by Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment