Fraudster who sold illegal boxes showing Sky and BT Sport jailed after fleeing to Cyprus
manchestereveningnews.co.ukA fraudster who went on the run after being convicted of selling pirate boxes giving illegal access to Sky TV, BT Sports and Virgin is finally behind bars.
Michael Hornung, then 38, of Hyde, Tameside, was sentenced to four and a half years in prison in June 2022 for selling unauthorised decoders, selling articles for use in fraud and advertising unauthorised decoders for sale.
But he failed to show up to be sentenced, with Minshull Street Crown Court hearing he had fled to Turkish-controlled Northern Cyprus, a territory with which the UK has no extradition treaty.
On June 2 Hornung was arrested in Cyprus by Cypriot authorities following an operation by the National Crime Agency and the Federation Against Copyright Theft (F.A.C.T.) and agreed to be extradited to the UK to serve his sentence.
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