ABS-CBN Corp. said it filed two civil complaints in the US Federal Courts against two individuals in a piracy network spanning across US state lines, seeking damages in the millions for allegedly pirating the company’s copyrighted content via illegal IPTV boxes.
The broadcast company said one lawsuit was filed in the Federal Court, Southern District of Texas against Alberto Ace Mayol Alfaro.
The second lawsuit was filed in the Federal Court, Central District of California against Romula Araneta Castillo, it said.
Castillo was arrested on Feb. 7, 2020 by the Los Angeles Police Department after an undercover sting operation for his alleged violations of California Penal Code 593(d).
Undercover officers purchased five boxes from Castillo, and confirmed one was streaming illegal content live on the scene.
The arrest and accompanying civil lawsuits mark the first actions this year by ABS-CBN in a coming wave against the nationwide epidemic of IPTV box sellers.