‘Breaking Bad’ drugs plot policeman now jailed over TV box scam
‘SOPHISTICATED’ OPERATION FUNDED ‘LAVISH’ LIFESTYLE INCLUDING LUXURY BREAKS
A FORMER ‘Breaking Bad’ police officer jailed for heading up a drugs conspiracy also sold dodgy TV boxes in order to fund his ‘lavish’ lifestyle which included slap-up meals and stays at top hotels.
Ex-Pc Daniel Aimson, 39, ran a ‘sophisticated’ operation selling ZGemma boxes online, many loaded with software which allowed people to access subscription channels such as Sky Sports and BT Sport and the latest films and TV without paying the normal fees.
He set up a company as part of the operation which raked in £655,000 over just 13 months, a court heard.
He used the profits to pay for luxury breaks and dinners costing hundreds of pounds at Michelinstarred restaurants with wife Rachel, from whom he has now split.
Aimson has now had a year added to his sentence after a judge said he had deprived companies like Sky of legitimate custom.
Aimson, of Ullswater
Road, Astley, Wigan was jailed for six years and four months on December 19, 2017 for conspiracy to produce cannabis and misconduct in a public office. Prosecutors in that case said he ‘revelled in his double life as officer and criminal’ being seen wearing a t-shirt with the name of Walter White’s alter-ego Heisenberg from the hit US show about a chemistry teacher turned drug dealer. While being interviewed by police, he told officers he had been selling the TV set top boxes, also known as IPTV boxes, which can be used to illegally access encrypted or subscription TV channels, said Alex Langhorn, prosecuting the new case against him on Monday. And in the ensuring months he continued to sell them across a number of online platforms including from a dedicated website and on eBay, Amazon, Twitter, Linkedin and others Mr Langhorn added. At one point his website had a facility to accept card payments from Barclaycard. Payments were also made directly into the business’s bank account and into a PayPal account belonging to his codefendant Martyn Foster. Foster, 39, of Stott Wharf,
Leigh has also admitted conspiracy to defraud and he will be sentenced for his role later this month.
In total the company received £655,332 from June 2016 to August 2017, the court was told.
“He made many purchases during this time it is clear, the prosecution say. He was living a lavish lifestyle funded by the sale of these devices,” Mr Langhorn said.
Among the spending was a meal at the two Michelin-starred restaurant at The Dorchester hotel in London and a gourmet break at Northcote Manor in Lancashire which also contains a Michelin-starred restaurant, with his then-wife Rachel.
Mrs Aimson, 30, of Leigh, was also charged with being concerned in the acquisition, retention, use or control of criminal property as part of the case. However she denied this and the case was later ordered to lie on the file.
Daniel Aimson’s barrister said he had previously offered to ‘assist’ the prosecution in their case against her.
The Federation against Copyright Theft (FACT) carried out an investigation into the TV box racket alongside police, and made a test purchase, after they were alerted by Barclaycard who eventually stopped the card payment service on the operation’s website, the court heard.
Saul Brody defending said “The fact he was a serving police officer at the time was taken into account in a big way when he was sentenced in December 2017.
“It would be unfair to that into account a second time.
“He has lost his employment, he has lost his liberty, his good character, his reputation and his marriage.”
Mr Brody added his client’s time in custody had been particularly difficult given the restrictions as a result of the current pandemic and that it was ‘common knowledge’ among fellow inmates that he was once a police officer.
Aimson had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud at an earlier hearing. Judge Elizabeth Nicholls sentenced him to a year in prison to run consecutively with his current term of which he will serve half, meaning in practice he will serve an additional six months.
Passing sentence Judge Nichols said: “You established the company and were undoubtedly the brains behind it.”
At Aimson’s sentencing for the drugs case it was said he was head of a conspiracy which flooded the streets of Manchester and north wales with cannabis.
He was living a lavish lifestyle funded by the sale of these devices Prosecutor Alex Langhorn