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A TikTok star has been spared prison time after he used Facebook to illegally stream Sky TV to thousands of people. Simon Hannigan, who has half a million followers on TikTok where he is known as 'Dad the Dish', used Facebook groups as a "shop window" to share the illegal links. He pleaded guilty to participating in fraudulent business as a sole trader, concealing and transferring criminal property, and providing a service contrary to copyright laws. An investigation found that Hannigan had been distributing Sky TV log-ins that allowed customers to access more than 3,500 channels, the court was told. After his arrest in March 2022, Simon admitted to providing links but denied breaching copyright laws and said he wasn’t in control of the system. One of the 'mother systems' used to facilitate the operation was based in Europe, serving 50 million people globally, Manchester Evening News reported. Hannigan was found to have been receiving payments from customers under the reference “paid adverts”. A review of his bank account revealed that 2,644 payments had been made using this reference, amounting to £151,112. The sum reached at least £152,000 along with other transfers – a figure which Hannigan acknowledged. The court was told how Hannigan had “turned his life around” since his arrest and was now running his own business called Munchieboxuk. It supports local takeaways by selling their food at lower fees than other delivery services. Known on TikTok and Instagram as "Dad the Dish", Hannigan uses his platform to share cooking videos. On TikTok alone he has garnered 6.4 million likes across his videos. He received a two-year sentence suspended for 24 months along with 250 hours of unpaid work at Preston Crown Court this week.
