Computer expert who made and sold fake set-up boxes sentenced to 240 hours of compulsory community service
Dublin: The Dublin Circuit Criminal Court sentenced Paul O’Brien (38), a native of Tallaght, Dublin, to 240 hours of community service for selling fake set-top boxes (Android) that could watch thousands of TV channels. An excellent computer technician, he was sentenced to compulsory community service considering his poor living conditions and local people’s support.
The judge observed that this was not a trivial offence. Judge Martin Nolan originally intended to impose a prison sentence but later reduced it. He said that he defrauded the real owners in order to make money, in violation of the copyright law. In lieu of two years in prison, he ordered 240 hours of community service. Judge Nolan had previously ordered the confiscation of 20,410 euros seized from him and the destruction of equipment. O’Brien’s He had more than 34,000 euros in his bank account. The court also found that 60 percent of it was through the illegal sale of such devices.
Between June 2016 and December 2017, he committed copyright infringement by selling fake set-up boxes. He sold fake Android boxes to 150 people. They were charged 12 euros per month to obtain the activation codes for approximately 4,000 TV channels. Every month, new codes were used for this purpose.
The scam was discovered in October 2017 when a Sky investigator purchased a Merlin TV Android box from IPTV Wizard. He then reported the incident to the garda, who tracked O’Brien down via a company registered to Android Box. Later that month, garda raided his and his partner’s home, seizing equipment and other items.
O’Brien’s lawyer told the court that his client had been a computer design technician his entire life. In 2016, O’Brien started his own company. In 2018, there was a lot of trouble without business. Then his life turned into a disaster. He stated that he is participating in counselling because he is under a lot of stress.
O’Brien’s partner is suffering from cervical cancer. He lives to raise his 14-year-old son. O’Brien is a devoted father. The lawyer argued that he is a good man who is always willing to help others. On the surface of this argument, the prison sentence was avoided and community service was imposed.
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