Three Coventry men have appeared in court for allegedly conspiring to defraud pay-TV broadcasters in a prosecution brought by the Football Association Premier League.
The case at Warwick Crown Court involves the supply of devices which it is said enabled people to watch streamed live Premier League games without paying for them.
Steven King, Daniel Malone, and Paul Rolston are all facing a single charge of conspiracy to defraud.
The charge alleges the three of them conspired together and with persons unknown to defraud broadcasters of pay-TV services and the Football Association Premier League between April 2009 and March this year.
It is said they did so by supplying devices and/or services which facilitated the viewing of pay-TV events without viewers making the appropriate payment to the broadcasters.
King (50) of Siddeley Avenue, Stoke, Coventry; Malone (41) of Woodway Lane, Potters Green, Coventry; and Rolston (53) of Pembroke Road, Holbrooks, Coventry, are all expected to deny the charge.
During a preliminary hearing at the court Ari Alibhai, prosecuting on behalf of the FA Premier League, said 500 pages of prosecution papers were served on the defence last month.
“But the court can expect on the date of service on the 1st of August around five times the volume of material already served,” he pointed out.
And, in respect of setting a timetable for the case, Mr Alibhar suggested: “It would be sensible that the defence are permitted a reasonable time to consider that material.”
He said it had been agreed with the court listing office that a plea and trial preparation should take place in September in front of Judge Peter Cooke.
All three men are expected to plead not guilty, and the trial, which is expected to take six weeks, has been preliminarily fixed for February 18 next year, also in front of Judge Cooke.
Judge Anthony Potter formally ordered the prosecution papers to be served by August 1, with defence case statements to be lodged by September 10, prior to the three men being arraigned on September 18.
He commented: “The issues seem fairly clear, whether Mr King admits he’s in charge of the company and whether he knew the streaming he was providing provided access to channels, and what channels they were.”
Adjourning the case until September, he granted all three men unconditional bail.
