It’s not just the COVID-19 epidemic that is hitting the headlines lately; there is also a nationwide epidemic of illegal selling of IPTV boxes in the U.S.
According to Broadband TV News, TV piracy has become big business since the advent of illegal streaming IPTV platforms, which make it easy to distribute, market and sell illegal subscriptions to thousands of channels.
(LEFT) Castillo during undercover purchase by ABS-CBN’s investigators, holding the pirated set top box; (RIGHT) Illegal set top box sold by Castillo to ABS-CBN’s undercover investigators.
Filipino entertainment and media company ABS-CBN recently filed two civil complaints in U.S. Federal Courts against two individuals in a piracy network spanning across U.S. state lines, seeking damages in the millions for allegedly pirating ABS-CBN’s copyrighted content via illegal IPTV boxes.
One lawsuit was filed in the Federal Court, Southern District of Texas against Alberto Ace Mayol Alfaro. The second lawsuit was filed in the Federal Court, Central District of California against Romula Araneta “Jon” Castillo.
In addition, Castillo was arrested on February 7, 2020 by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) after an undercover sting operation for his alleged violations of California Penal Code 593(d). Undercover officers purchased five boxes from Castillo, and confirmed one was streaming illegal content live on the scene.
This arrest and accompanying civil lawsuits mark the first actions this year by ABS-CBN in a coming wave against the nationwide epidemic of IPTV box sellers.
ABS-CBN conducted a months-long investigation into the scheme perpetuated by Castillo and his cousin, Alfaro, including undercover purchases from the targets. The lawsuits allege that Castillo and Alfaro engaged in this multi-state scheme to sell these pirated set top boxes to the unsuspecting public.
The lawsuits further allege that Castillo and Alfaro’s pirated set top boxes enabled buyers to access ABS-CBN’s live programming without paying the appropriate fees for such products, causing irreparable harm and damages to ABS-CBN.
ABS-CBN Global Anti-Piracy Head Elisha Lawrence said: “We are thankful for the cooperation of the LA Police Dept. in investigating and arresting Castillo, a kingpin in this pirate box scheme. Defrauding the public by selling these fake boxes is a scam operation and preying on innocent people. We are very happy to have the cooperation of the police to enforce against these pirates.”
To avoid being a victim of piracy and malware, stay away from pirate websites and illegitimate sales of unauthorized IPTV boxes. View ABS-CBN content on the official website, TFC.tv.
