An NHS worker who made more than £200,000 selling illegal Fire Sticks to over 1,000 customers has been spared jail. Craig Austin, 38, of Keats Avenue in Whiston, provided unauthorised access to Sky Sports streams for around five years.
Liverpool Crown Court heard on Wednesday that Austin was identified as the operator of a Twitter (now X) account called "Aussie 90", which advertised "dodgy Fire Sticks" for sale. This followed two test purchases by Merseyside Police and FACT in March 2023 and May 2025.
How the scheme operated
Olivia Belle, prosecuting, described how Austin offered six-month subscriptions for Sky Sports and BT Sports (now TNT Sports) streams via IPTV for £40, or £80 for 12 months. In total, he amassed 1,116 service users, generating proceeds of £205,700.72.
Investigations into Austin's PayPal and bank accounts revealed a series of transfers from customers dating back to January 2020. Police executed a search warrant at his home on August 7 last year, seizing mobile phones and Fire Sticks.
Under interview, Austin told detectives he had ceased his activities in June the previous year when he "realised that people were being prosecuted", adding that he "knew it was dodgy, but he was doing it to make ends meet" after his wife lost her job. He stated he had been approached by a company via social media to sell IPTV subscriptions, which he "did willingly to make extra money".
Financial impact on Sky
An anti-piracy investigator from Sky estimated that, had the more than 1,000 subscribers paid legitimately over the entire period of his offending, the company would have netted £3,661,908.48.
Austin, who has no previous convictions, admitted three counts of making or supplying an article for use in fraud and acquiring criminal property. Wearing a navy blue suit in the dock, he was handed a 32-month imprisonment suspended for three years with 150 hours of unpaid work and a rehabilitation activity requirement of up to 20 days.
Court's reasoning for suspended sentence
Nicola Daley, defending, told the court: "In my submission, although this is, on the one hand, serious offending, that is outweighed on the balancing scales by the significant mitigation. In my submission, his genuine remorse feeds into the realistic prospect of rehabilitation."
Sentencing, Recorder Daniel Lister said: "I am satisfied that you are someone who has demonstrated remorse and cooperated with the investigation throughout these proceedings. In reality, it is pretty straight forward. You were, from September 2019 until the end of May 2025, involved in the wholesale supply of what might be called hooky Fire Sticks, IPTV subscription services."
He added: "This is really serious behaviour. The figures involved are eye-watering."
Cries of "yes" were heard from Austin's supporters as he was told he would not be going to jail, with two women seen leaving the public gallery. Austin initially looked to the ceiling before hunching over in his seat, after which he appeared to be close to tears.
