A year after avoiding arrest in Canada, alleged pirate IPTV owner Éric Grenier traveled back from Venezuela on Tuesday before appearing at the Trois-Rivières courthouse the next day. He faces ten charges in connection with the alleged theft of TV signals from Bell, Rogers and Quebecor, and the sale of illegal set-top boxes via Arubox TV and Stocker IPTV. A total of seven co-defendants face charges in the same case.
From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.
On Tuesday, 52-year-old Grenier traveled from Aruba, an island off the coast of Venezuela, to Canada’s Montreal airport.
Law enforcement officers of the Sûreté du Québec (SQ – Quebec Provincial Police) escorted Grenier to the SQ police station in Shawinigan. Police had carried out an operation in February 2024 which targeted Grenier and several individuals linked to the current prosecution. Grenier, who was outside Canada at the time, avoided arrest and remained at large for more than a year.
Court Hears Allegations Concerning Signal Theft and Pirate IPTV
The warrant for Grenier’s arrest was issued as part of an investigation into the illegal acquisition and sale of TV channels distributed by Canada’s leading telecoms companies. Bell, Rogers, and Quebecor claimed their losses ran to several million Canadian dollars.
Grenier appeared at the Trois-Rivières courthouse on Wednesday. The prosecution alleges that devices supplied by Grenier provided customers with access to thousands of television channels, most if not all pirated, for a low subscription price of ~CAD$25.00 per month (US$18.00).
The authorities accuse Grenier of operating a company which in turn owned pirate IPTV service Arubox TV. As per our 2023 report, Grenier made no secret of his involvement in the IPTV market.
Grenier Advertising IPTV Boxes
Police say that Arubox TV and a linked service called Stocker IPTV provided thousands of customers, 7,000 in Quebec alone, with illegal access to more than 3,500 pirated TV channels.
Grenier faces ten charges linked to the theft of telecommunications services, including conspiracy, fraud, theft, and money laundering. The alleged offenses took place between June 2020 and February 2024, generating annual profits of at least CAD$2 million (US$14m) according to Sûreté du Québec estimates.
• Conspiracy to defraud Bell, Rogers and Quebecor
• Theft of telecommunications services
• Production of devices linked to illegal signal access
• Trafficking in devices linked to illegal signal access
• Sale of devices linked to illegal signal access
• Trafficking in property obtained by crime
• Theft of more than CAD$5,000
• Laundering proceeds of crime
• Transfer of money linked to crime in Canada with intent to conceal/convert
• Computer data ‘mischief’
Other charges concern alleged trafficking in the prescription drugs Sildenfil and Tadalafil.
Seven Co-Defendants
Grenier will remain in custody until his next court appearance. The prosecution argued against Grenier’s release and insisted that he should face trial by jury, rather than by judge alone. Grenier’s co-defendants, several of whom previously appeared in court following their arrests in 2024, have already opted for a trial by jury.
A total of seven people stand accused of various crimes in the same case.
Le Nouvelliste identifies the co-defendants as follows:
• Danick Rouleau, 39, of Saint-Eustache (alleged Stocker IPTV operator)
• Sarah-Maude Grenier, 25, of Brownsburg-Chatham
• Marie-Ève Poliquin Karaguioules, 26, of Saint-Eustache
• Éric Laforge, 44, of Gatineau
• Daniel Perreault-Marcotte, 38, of Saint-Henri
• Patrick Cyr, 49, of Longueuil
• Christian Sabourin, 60, of Princeville
Are Customers at Risk of Prosecution?
While police have offered assurances that customers are not targets in the current criminal investigation, possession of a pirate device could be a criminal offense in its own right. Police are therefore advising affected customers to dispose of their pirate devices at recycling centers.
Pirate subscriptions make legal devices illegal
The IPTV services in question are known to have been installed on relative expensive Formuler set-top boxes. When fresh out of their packaging, these Android-based devices are perfectly legal; only the subsequent configuration for piracy purposes changes that.
A full and properly executed factory reset will remove the offending configuration, help the environment, and via legal apps installed from Google Play, provide access to legal streaming services.
From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.
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