![\"Flawless](\"http:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Flawless-TV.jpg\")
<\/a>Premier League 6, Rest of the UK 0\u00a0(latest score)<\/em><\/h2>\nFollowing last year\u2019s convictions, there were a few loose ends still to be tied up in matters connected to the Flawless case. A defendant who failed to appear for sentencing was reportedly\u00a0recaptured in Thailand<\/a>\u00a0last August, but six months later his fate still isn\u2019t clear.<\/p>\nWhile Flawless sold subscriptions direct to the public for roughly \u00a310 per month, those prepared to sell to their own customers could buy them for roughly \u00a36 and then sell on for \u00a310, or indeed whatever they liked. A person previously described as one of the leading resellers of Flawless TV subscriptions was previously mentioned using the mysterious pseudonym \u2018Mr X\u2019.<\/p>\n
At his sentencing last week, a less sinister picture emerged.<\/p>\n
Dedicated Headteacher, Father of One, Maverick<\/h2>\n
At Birmingham Crown Court last Friday, 42-year-old Paul Merrell was handed a 12-month prison sentence for reselling IPTV subscriptions to an estimated 2,000 customers.<\/p>\n
Between 2017 and 2021, Merrell received a total of \u00a3450,000 in customer payments, an amount from which the cost of buying the subscriptions (around \u00a3200,000) would have to be deducted before counting up any profits.<\/p>\n
The revelation that Merrell built most of this business while working as a deputy headteacher at a school in Coventry, came as a surprise. That the business continued after being appointed headteacher of a school in Stourbridge, was more surprising still. A headteacher, addressed \u2018Sir\u2019 during the day, was known as \u2018Media Maverick\u2019 online.<\/p>\n
According to people who spoke favorably of him in court, Merrell\u2019s positive contribution to society included taking a \u00a313,000 reduction in salary when he became headteacher, because he felt he could turn a failing school around. To cover two decades of six-figure annual losses, Elmfield Rudolf Steiner School sold off its land, but after Merrell\u2019s arrival, things began to improve.<\/p>\n
Merrell\u2019s Actions \u201cRequire Deterrence\u201d<\/h2>\n
In a letter to the court requesting leniency, the chair of Merrell\u2019s school council spoke of its plight implying that, should he be spared prison, Merrell might even keep his job. Concerns for his wife, son, and the family home, were also heard, and there\u2019s no doubt the court considered the UK\u2019s prison capacity crisis.<\/p>\n
Yet, according to the judge, this was a case where\u00a0deterrence was required<\/a>\u00a0and with that, he sent the headteacher to prison and issued a confiscation order for \u00a391,250.<\/p>\nThe situation at the school is unclear but according to Merrell\u2019s barrister, the family will likely lose their home. Upon his release, returning to work as a teacher could prove almost impossible.<\/p>\n
So overall then; a sentence that may deter IPTV resellers but will benefit almost no one else, while the taxpayer picks up the bill once again?<\/p>\n
A Little Nuance Rarely Hurts<\/h2>\n
When an otherwise decent person gets deprived of their freedom, while career criminals who contribute nothing receive yet another chance to turn things around, that can undermine public confidence in the justice system. In this case, however, things aren\u2019t as straightforward as they may first appear, particularly when it comes to deterrence.<\/p>\n
Mark Gould, the main player at Flawless, was raided at his home in Greenwich on May 22, 2018. News of that magnitude travels very quickly in IPTV communities. Two additional arrests on June 19, followed by two more in July and August, meant that anyone with even a basic interest in IPTV should\u2019ve had at least some idea things were going wrong, Merrell included.<\/p>\n
An alternative narrative, where Merrell wasn\u2019t told anything was amiss and had no means of finding out, may suggest he was simply in the wrong line of business. Certainly, the ease with which his online persona could be matched to IPTV sales, his real name, and his home address, may even back that up.<\/p>\n
Reselling Continues<\/h2>\n
Regardless, between January 2017 and up to a week after Gould\u2019s arrest, Merrell paid Flawless just over \u00a3100,100 for reseller credits he later sold on. However, despite Gould\u2019s arrest and the likelihood things would get worse, payments to Flawless continued, albeit to PayPal accounts not operated by Gould.<\/p>\n
The people behind those accounts have not been named in public, at least to our knowledge, but they were part of a new plan to keep Flawless going despite Gould\u2019s arrest. The identities of these people are well known to the Premier League\u2019s investigators, but their legal position is unknown to us.<\/p>\n
Roughly a year later, around July 2019, a FACT investigation was uncovering the transactions detailed above, plus others related to the same operation. That seemed to show that Gould\u2019s arrest and the need to migrate the service into a new form to avoid law enforcement, had no effect on Merrell\u2019s reselling business.<\/p>\n
Late January 2021, two-and-a-half years after Gould\u2019s arrest, Birmingham Trading Standards raided Merrell\u2019s home in Sutton Coldfield, triggering a series of events that led to his sentencing last week.<\/p>\n
How different things would\u2019ve been if Media Maverick had stopped doing business in May 2018 is unknown. In money terms, given the amounts cited at trial, the overall value could\u2019ve been 50% lower, the period of offending, significantly lower than that.<\/p>\n
If nothing else, the judge would\u2019ve had fewer reasons to impose a deterrent custodial sentence, and as a result, the consequences would\u2019ve been much less severe.<\/p>\n
Source: \u00a0![\"TorrentFreak\"](\"http:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/torrentfreak.png\")
<\/a> TorrentFreak.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
While Flawless sold subscriptions direct to the public for roughly \u00a310 per month, those prepared to sell to their own customers could buy them for roughly \u00a36 and then sell on for \u00a310, or indeed whatever they liked. A person previously described as one of the leading resellers of Flawless TV subscriptions was previously mentioned using the mysterious pseudonym \u2018Mr X\u2019.<\/p>\n
At his sentencing last week, a less sinister picture emerged.<\/p>\n
Dedicated Headteacher, Father of One, Maverick<\/h2>\n
At Birmingham Crown Court last Friday, 42-year-old Paul Merrell was handed a 12-month prison sentence for reselling IPTV subscriptions to an estimated 2,000 customers.<\/p>\n
Between 2017 and 2021, Merrell received a total of \u00a3450,000 in customer payments, an amount from which the cost of buying the subscriptions (around \u00a3200,000) would have to be deducted before counting up any profits.<\/p>\n
The revelation that Merrell built most of this business while working as a deputy headteacher at a school in Coventry, came as a surprise. That the business continued after being appointed headteacher of a school in Stourbridge, was more surprising still. A headteacher, addressed \u2018Sir\u2019 during the day, was known as \u2018Media Maverick\u2019 online.<\/p>\n
According to people who spoke favorably of him in court, Merrell\u2019s positive contribution to society included taking a \u00a313,000 reduction in salary when he became headteacher, because he felt he could turn a failing school around. To cover two decades of six-figure annual losses, Elmfield Rudolf Steiner School sold off its land, but after Merrell\u2019s arrival, things began to improve.<\/p>\n
Merrell\u2019s Actions \u201cRequire Deterrence\u201d<\/h2>\n
In a letter to the court requesting leniency, the chair of Merrell\u2019s school council spoke of its plight implying that, should he be spared prison, Merrell might even keep his job. Concerns for his wife, son, and the family home, were also heard, and there\u2019s no doubt the court considered the UK\u2019s prison capacity crisis.<\/p>\n
Yet, according to the judge, this was a case where\u00a0deterrence was required<\/a>\u00a0and with that, he sent the headteacher to prison and issued a confiscation order for \u00a391,250.<\/p>\n The situation at the school is unclear but according to Merrell\u2019s barrister, the family will likely lose their home. Upon his release, returning to work as a teacher could prove almost impossible.<\/p>\n So overall then; a sentence that may deter IPTV resellers but will benefit almost no one else, while the taxpayer picks up the bill once again?<\/p>\n When an otherwise decent person gets deprived of their freedom, while career criminals who contribute nothing receive yet another chance to turn things around, that can undermine public confidence in the justice system. In this case, however, things aren\u2019t as straightforward as they may first appear, particularly when it comes to deterrence.<\/p>\n Mark Gould, the main player at Flawless, was raided at his home in Greenwich on May 22, 2018. News of that magnitude travels very quickly in IPTV communities. Two additional arrests on June 19, followed by two more in July and August, meant that anyone with even a basic interest in IPTV should\u2019ve had at least some idea things were going wrong, Merrell included.<\/p>\n An alternative narrative, where Merrell wasn\u2019t told anything was amiss and had no means of finding out, may suggest he was simply in the wrong line of business. Certainly, the ease with which his online persona could be matched to IPTV sales, his real name, and his home address, may even back that up.<\/p>\n Regardless, between January 2017 and up to a week after Gould\u2019s arrest, Merrell paid Flawless just over \u00a3100,100 for reseller credits he later sold on. However, despite Gould\u2019s arrest and the likelihood things would get worse, payments to Flawless continued, albeit to PayPal accounts not operated by Gould.<\/p>\n The people behind those accounts have not been named in public, at least to our knowledge, but they were part of a new plan to keep Flawless going despite Gould\u2019s arrest. The identities of these people are well known to the Premier League\u2019s investigators, but their legal position is unknown to us.<\/p>\n Roughly a year later, around July 2019, a FACT investigation was uncovering the transactions detailed above, plus others related to the same operation. That seemed to show that Gould\u2019s arrest and the need to migrate the service into a new form to avoid law enforcement, had no effect on Merrell\u2019s reselling business.<\/p>\n Late January 2021, two-and-a-half years after Gould\u2019s arrest, Birmingham Trading Standards raided Merrell\u2019s home in Sutton Coldfield, triggering a series of events that led to his sentencing last week.<\/p>\n How different things would\u2019ve been if Media Maverick had stopped doing business in May 2018 is unknown. In money terms, given the amounts cited at trial, the overall value could\u2019ve been 50% lower, the period of offending, significantly lower than that.<\/p>\n If nothing else, the judge would\u2019ve had fewer reasons to impose a deterrent custodial sentence, and as a result, the consequences would\u2019ve been much less severe.<\/p>\n Source: \u00a0A Little Nuance Rarely Hurts<\/h2>\n
Reselling Continues<\/h2>\n
<\/a> TorrentFreak.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"