Cries of 'yes' as NHS worker who made £200K from dodgy fire sticks avoid prison

Cries of 'yes' as NHS worker who made £200K from dodgy fire sticks avoid prison NHS worker Craig Austin, 38, supplied more than 1,000 people with illegal access to Sky and BT Sports streams in a secret side hustle which earned him more than £200,000 An NHS worker secretly built a £200,000-plus side hustle selling 'dodgy fire sticks' to more than 1,000 customers, a court heard. Craig Austin, 38, spent around five years supplying illegal IPTV subscriptions which gave customers access to Sky Sports and BT Sports, now TNT Sports. The former ambulance service employee promoted the services through social media while, he told police, trying to "make ends meet" after his wife lost her job. But the scale of the business was laid bare at Liverpool Crown Court, where prosecutors said 1,116 users had been identified and Austin had received £205,700.72 in payments. As he was spared jail, cries of "yes" were heard from his supporters in court, Liverpool Echo reports. An anti-piracy investigator from Sky estimated that Austin's activities could have potentially cost the broadcaster more than £3.5 million. The 38-year-old was identified as the operator of an X account called 'Aussie 90' which advertised "dodgy fire sticks". His account came to the attention of Merseyside Police and FACT after test purchases were made in March 2023 and May 2025. Detectives subsequently examined Austin's PayPal and bank accounts, uncovering customer payments dating back to January 2020. Police later raided his home in Whiston on August 7 last year, seizing mobile phones and fire sticks. Olivia Belle, prosecuting, described how Austin would offer six month subscriptions for Sky Sports and BT Sports streams via IPTV for £40, or £80 for 12 months. During his police interview, the defendant told officers he had stopped the operation the previous June after he "realised that people were being prosecuted". He also admitted he "knew it was dodgy" but was doing it to make ends meet after his wife lost her job. A judge told Austin as he was spared prison today: "This is really serious behaviour. The figures involved are eye-watering." Austin, who has no previous convictions, has two young children. Nicola Daley, defending, told the court that his remorse and efforts to rebuild his life should be taken into account. She said: "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. "The author of that probation report has noted positive admissions. There is still work that can be done. "This is somebody who, despite losing his good name and losing his work for the NHS, not significantly well paid, but still work he had done for a number of years, he has gone out and found himself another job. "I can assure the court that he does take his responsibility seriously. He has come to court today expecting the potential of receiving a custodial sentence." Austin admitted three counts of making or supplying an article for use in fraud and acquiring criminal property. He was handed a 32-month sentence suspended for three years with 150 hours of unpaid work and a rehabilitation activity requirement of up to 20 days. Sentencing, Recorder Daniel Lister said he was satisfied Austin had demonstrated remorse after engaging in "five years worth of serious dishonesty". The judge added: "It is clear that you are not only someone with another side to you, because you are a caring and attentive father and husband, but you have also worked in a responsible role with the ambulance service and conducted yourself in that role in a way that would be commendable." Mr Lister said there is a "level of sophistication" in the nature of Austin's offending but that he was sure the dad is "very unlikely to be involved with the criminal justice system in this way again." The judge continued: "The mitigation in this case is your lack of previous convictions, your remorse, your positive good character, the personal circumstances that have been set out to me in the way that you support your wife and children and that you have prospects of work in the future. "In this case, I am satisfied that there is a realistic prospect of rehabilitation in the community. "You do not present a high risk of reoffending. You have strong personal mitigation. It is clear that you have children who are dependant upon you, and there would be an impact on them if you were imprisoned. "This is really serious behaviour. You are fortunate to find yourself in a situation where prisons are full and, frankly, someone like you who has not been in trouble before can be dealt with in the community. "That does not mean this offending is not very serious indeed. The figures involved are eye-watering."