NHS ambulance worker who made £200k selling dodgy Fire Sticks 'to make ends meet' is sentenced
An NHS ambulance worker who dealt with 'eye-watering' figures in selling 'dodgy Firesticks' to 'make ends meet' has avoided jail.
Craig Austin, 38, earned over £200,000 by selling illegal television, sport and film streaming packages to over 1,000 customers.
He advertised his services and sold subscriptions through social media and messaging channels, and admitted to three counts of making or supplying an article for use in fraud and acquiring criminal property.
In Liverpool Crown Court on Wednesday, August 19, Austin was sentenced to 32-months in prison, suspended for three years, along with 150 hours of community service and a rehabilitation activity requirement of up to 20 days.
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The news that Austin, from Whiston, Merseyside, would not be heading to jail was greeted with cheers of 'yes' from his supporters, while he looked to the ceiling and appeared emotional, according to the Liverpool Echo.
How the dodgy fire stick seller was caught
Austin's illegal subscription sales took place between January 2020 and August 2025, with the court hearing he generated £205,700.12 in revenue from the sales of packages priced at £40 and £80 to 1,116 customers.
An anti-piracy investigator from Sky, estimated that if those subscribers instead paid for legitimate packages with them, then the company would have earned £3,661,908.48.
The court heard that Austin was identified as the user of a a Twitter, now X, account named 'Aussie 90', which advertised 'dodgy firesticks', when Merseyside Police and FACT - the Federation Against Copyright Theft - made two test purchases in March 2023 and May 2025.
Further probing into Austin's Paypal and bank accounts then found a string of bank transfers from customers dating back to January 2020.
Austin's home was searched by police on August 7, 2025, where they found and seized mobile phones and firesticks.
It's reported he told officers under interview that he was selling them to 'make ends meet' after his wife lost her job despite knowing 'it was dodgy', saying he had stopped his activities after he 'realised that people were being prosecuted.'
Austin lost his own job with the NHS but soon found more work to support his two young children and wife, who is said to be in poor health.
He pleaded guilty to the charges at Liverpool Magistrates Court on July 22, 2026.
His solicitor, Nicola Daley, said during sentencing he had done 'serious offending' but spoke of Austin's 'genuine remorse' and the 'significant mitigation' in the case.
The sentencing verdict
During sentencing, Recorder Daniel Lister said he was 'satisfied' that Austin has shown remorse and co-operated with the investigation throughout.
Lister said Austin's behaviour started in 'opportunistic' fashion but the fact it lasted for fives years displayed 'serious dishonesty.'
However, he then labelled him as a 'caring and attentive father and husband' and praised his 'commendable' conduct while working for the NHS.
Listed commented on the 'sophistication' of the offending but is 'sure' that Austin is 'very unlikely' to find himself in such legal hot water again and is a 'low risk of reconviction.'
Lister said: "The mitigation in this case is your lack of previous convictions, your remorse, your positive good character, the personal circumstances that have been set out to me in the way that you support your wife and children and that you have prospects of work in the future.
"In this case, I am satisfied that there is a realistic prospect of rehabilitation in the community."
However, Lister did note that Austin is lucky that there isn't a lot of room going in prisons.
He concluded: "You do not present a high risk of reoffending. You have strong personal mitigation. It is clear that you have children who are dependant upon you, and there would be an impact on them if you were imprisoned.
"This is really serious behaviour. You are fortunate to find yourself in a situation where prisons are full and, frankly, someone like you who has not been in trouble before can be dealt with in the community. That does not mean this offending is not very serious indeed. The figures involved are eye-watering."
Senior Crown Prosecutor Andrew Blennerhassett, of CPS Mersey-Cheshire, said: "Offending like this comes at a real cost to broadcasters, production companies, artists, presenters, crews and everyone involved in bringing television, sport and film to audiences. It also sells short the law-abiding customers who pay the full price for their subscriptions."
Daniel Murphy