O.J. Simpson fined $25,000 for satellite signal theft
Scott Stinson
National Post
Wednesday, July 27, 2005
He was acquitted of two murder charges in one of the most notorious criminal trials in U.S. history, but the law caught up with O.J. Simpson yesterday.
Mr. Simpson was convicted of satellite signal theft and ordered to pay US$25,000 to DirecTV, the California-based satellite television provider.
DirecTV released a statement yesterday saying a Florida judge granted a motion to issue a fine against the former football star and one-time TV ad pitchman.
Bloomberg News reported that a telephone call to Mr. Simpson's attorney Yale L. Galanter was not immediately returned.
Satellite companies in the United States and Canada have for years complained that signal theft costs them millions in subscription fees, and that authorities have not done enough to crack down on the problem. Prosecutions have been relatively rare, and the court order against Mr. Simpson appears to have netted DirecTV its first celebrity catch, albeit an infamous one.
The Canadian Cable Television Association estimates as many as 700,000 Canadians participate in signal theft -- either in the "grey market" by paying a U.S. provider to receive unauthorized broadcasts or in the "black market" by illegally receiving satellite transmissions from either a U.S. or Canadian service. The cable association said in March black market DirecTV users who suddenly found their systems rendered useless last year mostly switched to another black market alternative.
Scott Stinson
National Post
Wednesday, July 27, 2005
He was acquitted of two murder charges in one of the most notorious criminal trials in U.S. history, but the law caught up with O.J. Simpson yesterday.
Mr. Simpson was convicted of satellite signal theft and ordered to pay US$25,000 to DirecTV, the California-based satellite television provider.
DirecTV released a statement yesterday saying a Florida judge granted a motion to issue a fine against the former football star and one-time TV ad pitchman.
Bloomberg News reported that a telephone call to Mr. Simpson's attorney Yale L. Galanter was not immediately returned.
Satellite companies in the United States and Canada have for years complained that signal theft costs them millions in subscription fees, and that authorities have not done enough to crack down on the problem. Prosecutions have been relatively rare, and the court order against Mr. Simpson appears to have netted DirecTV its first celebrity catch, albeit an infamous one.
The Canadian Cable Television Association estimates as many as 700,000 Canadians participate in signal theft -- either in the "grey market" by paying a U.S. provider to receive unauthorized broadcasts or in the "black market" by illegally receiving satellite transmissions from either a U.S. or Canadian service. The cable association said in March black market DirecTV users who suddenly found their systems rendered useless last year mostly switched to another black market alternative.
