Defendant Seeks Leniency in Sports Streaming Piracy Sentencing

Recent criminal sentences by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York for illegal distribution of copyrighted materials support varying from sentencing guidelines for Joshua Streit, said his counsel, Jeffrey Lichtman, in a sentencing submission last week (docket 1:22-cr-00350). Under sentencing guidelines, the St. Louis Park, Minnesota, defendant -- who was charged in 2021 with intrusions into MLB computer systems, and with illegally streaming copyrighted content from MLB, NBA, NFL and NHL -- faces 57 to 60 months imprisonment after pleading guilty in June to one charge in a plea deal, Lichtman wrote U.S. District Judge Andrew Carter, asking for leniency. He said the March 16 sentencing should take into account that Streit started his pirate streaming operation while caring for his mother who ultimately succumbed to brain cancer. With Streit being employed, "the prospects for his rehabilitation are therefore very good," he said.