A Liverpool man who loaded Firestick devices to enable illegal streaming of Premier League football matches and ignored multiple warnings to cease his activities has been sentenced to jail.

Jonathan Edge, 29, reprogrammed Amazon devices at home to offer unauthorized streaming services and sold them for cash through advertisements on Facebook. Edge operated his illicit business by advertising through word of mouth and loading data onto fire stick devices in exchange for cash payments.

Edge admitted to three counts of fraud following a private prosecution by the Premier League and received a prison sentence of three years and four months from Liverpool Crown Court.

Kevin Plumb, representing the Premier League, stated that the league would continue enforcing its broadcast rights by pursuing illegal operators “regardless of scale.”

Edge was additionally sentenced for watching the illicit football streams he was selling.

The court heard that he ran this cash-based operation despite repeated warnings from the Premier League to desist. He ignored multiple warnings about the illegal activity, which were referenced by the judge and treated as an aggravating factor in sentencing.

“Many people see no harm in illegally streaming TV services but they are wrong,” Det Sgt Steve Frame, from Merseyside Police, said.

He said Edge’s sentence should “serve as a further warning how seriously such copyright theft continues to be taken”.

Mr Plumb said the selling of Premier League broadcast rights helped support “financial contributions to the whole football pyramid”.

“We’re pleased that the courts have once again recognised the importance of safeguarding these rights,” he added.

Keiron Sharp, of the intellectual property rights watchdog FACT, said those who create an illegal business to sell stolen content will be investigated, “regardless of their level of operation or advertising methods”.

In a statement, the Premier League added: “Edge ignored multiple warnings to stop this activity, which was referenced by the judge and treated as an aggravating factor towards the sentence passed.

“The judge also recognised that legitimate subscribers are victims of these fraudulent operations and therefore their impact goes beyond that experienced by the broadcast industry.”