Retired Florida airman stationed at Shaw AFB sentenced for illegally selling TV access codes

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - An airman formerly stationed at Shaw Air Force Base in Sumter was sentenced to federal prison after being convicted for providing illegal access to digital streaming services.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) said Franklin Valverde Jr., 40, of Melbourne, Florida made hundreds of thousands of dollars by illegally selling access codes that allowed users to view the entire video libraries of Dish Network and Sling TV.

These video libraries included all copyrighted content of both Dish Network and Sling TV, including pay-per-view sporting events, movies and television shows.

Valverde was stationed at Shaw when he began the scheme, DOJ added. He would typically charge users $10 a month for the codes.

The department said Valverde’s conviction is believed to be the first in the nation under the 2021 Protecting Lawful Streaming Act (PLSA). Introduced as a provision of the Covid-19 Stimulus Bill, the PLSA is intended to punish piracy services that profit from illegally streaming copyrighted material.

Valverde pled guilty and was sentenced to 12 months and one day in federal prison, followed by three years of supervision upon release. He was also ordered to pay $22,639.27 in restitution as well as a $250,000 fine.

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