New York and Bangladesh Residents Charged with Running 247TVStream, a Massive Digital Streaming Piracy Operation
Published on November 20, 2024
- Two brothers were charged by a U.S. court with operating a pirate digital streaming platform.
- They reportedly used stolen identity details to support the infrastructure of their illicit operations.
- Copyright holders allegedly suffered damages of over $100 million due to this pirate service.
Two individuals from New York and Bangladesh, respectively, were charged with conspiracy to operate an illicit digital streaming service, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft linked to their website, 247TVStream.Â
This subscription-based service allowed users to stream copyrighted content without permission from content owners. Noor Nabi Chowdhury, 56, of Cheektowaga, New York, and Mohammad Rahman, 36, of Dhaka, Bangladesh.Â
The indictment was issued on November 15 by a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of New York, and according to court filings, Chowdhury and Rahman allegedly garnered over $7 million from subscribers while inflicting more than $100 million in damages to copyright holders.Â
Furthermore, the duo reportedly used stolen identity credentials to support their illicit operations' infrastructure.
The indictment was unsealed this morning post-Chowdhury’s arrest, who appeared in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York for his arraignment. Rahman remains at large with an ongoing arrest warrant.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri emphasized the significant enforcement of intellectual property laws, highlighting the collaboration between domestic and international law enforcement units that led to the dismantling of the illicit platform.
U.S. Attorney Breon Peace underscored the commitment to defending intellectual property rights against such digital piracy, while Special Agent in Charge William S. Walker of HSI New York called attention to the extensive identity theft and exploitation of major businesses involved in the scheme.
HSI executed a domain seizure order, blocking access to domains associated with 247TVStream. Subdomains now display a federal seizure notice. Additionally, coordinated efforts with UK authorities led to the seizure of servers hosting part of the 247TVStream infrastructure.
Chowdhury and Rahman face up to five years for the conspiracy to provide an illicit digital transmission service, three years for operating the service, and up to 20 years for wire fraud. An additional mandatory sentence of two years is attached for aggravated identity theft.
This case reflects an international collaboration, with the HSI New York Field Office leading the investigation alongside their Buffalo counterparts and Attaché offices in Ottawa, The Hague, and London, supported by the U.S. Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and law enforcement agencies from the UK and Canada.
Recently, the FMovies pirate site operator confessed and now faces prosecution along with his accomplice.
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