A man who pocketed over £1 million by running three illegal streaming websites has been jailed after being arrested with £20,000 in cash at King’s Cross station.
Stephen Woodward, 36, of Front Street, Thirsk, ran IPTV Hosting, Helix Hosting, and Black and White TV, which sold illegal access to copyrighted content including Sky Sports and BT Sport. He used the profits to buy designer clothes and jewellery, luxury holidays, and a £91,000 Jaguar F-Type V8 coupe.
His brother, Christopher Woodward, 34, received £126,000 linked to the criminal enterprise.
Following a lengthy investigation by the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) at City of London Police, the pair were sentenced at York Crown Court on 11 July 2025.
Stephen was jailed for three years and one month after pleading guilty in February to distributing articles infringing copyright and four counts of money laundering. Christopher, of Dalton Moor, Thirsk, received a 15-month suspended sentence and was ordered to complete 240 hours of unpaid work after pleading guilty to money laundering.
Detective Constable Daryl Fryatt, from PIPCU, said:“Illegal streaming weakens the creative industries by diverting money away from legitimate businesses and into the hands of criminals like Stephen Woodward. Lost revenue as a result of illegal streaming means fewer jobs and less investment in future opportunities. It’s estimated that this criminal activity contributes to over 80,000 job losses each year alone.
“Stephen was brazen in running his illegal streaming websites. Despite being the subject of a criminal investigation, he had clearly not learned his lesson and yet again attempted to gain financially from his illegal activity.
“His sentencing and upcoming confiscation proceedings should send a message that there are significant consequences for criminals who enable illegal access to copyrighted content.”
PIPCU investigators secured an all-assets restraint order against £1.1 million held in 15 bank accounts and 21 cryptocurrency wallets in Stephen’s name. An additional £144,121 in cash seized during the investigation was frozen. Jewellery recovered from his home will also be subject to confiscation proceedings.
Officers first arrested Stephen in November 2019 and seized a computer, hard drive, nine phones and £4,760 in cash. Around 100 envelopes containing SIM cards with names written on them were also found, believed to be used to create PayPal and bank accounts under fake identities bought online.
At one point, Stephen told his brother via message that he was making £100,000 a month through illegal streaming. He used various payment methods, including 13 PayPal accounts and peer-to-peer services like Circle, often converting funds into cryptocurrency before laundering it through 23 separate bank accounts.
While under investigation, he launched two new streaming websites — Black and White TV and Helix Hosting — offering more than 6,500 channels and illegal access to Premier League matches.
He was re-arrested in July 2020 after police searched his home again and seized a further £28,600 in cash from the same drawer in his living room.
In November 2020, British Transport Police arrested Stephen at King’s Cross station after a Thirsk station staff member spotted him hiding a carrier bag behind a grit bin before boarding a train to London. Inside the bag was £20,000 in cash. A later search of his home uncovered £1,770 hidden in the loft and a further £380 elsewhere on the property.
In October 2022, Border Force officers detained Stephen at Gatwick Airport as he attempted to board a flight to Vancouver. They discovered three bundles of cash totalling £10,870 in his luggage.
All cash seized by BTP and Border Force was incorporated into PIPCU’s investigation. The three websites are now offline.
Kieron Sharp, Chairman of FACT, said: “This investigation and the outcome underline that illegal streaming is not a victimless crime. It harms the creative economy and funds criminality. FACT commends the work of PIPCU in bringing this long-running case to justice.”
PIPCU have also applied for a Serious Crime Prevention Order (SCPO) against Stephen, which would place restrictions on his activities once released from prison.
Stephen pleaded guilty to distributing articles infringing copyright, transferring and converting criminal property, and two counts of possessing criminal property. Christopher admitted to entering into an arrangement contrary to the Proceeds of Crime Act.
The OECD estimates that more than 86,000 UK jobs were lost to counterfeiting and piracy in 2016.
