Popular Youtuber and Instagram influencer Omi in a Hellcat was sentenced to 5 years in prison and ordered to forfeit more than $30 million in cash and assets on Thursday.
Omi, real name Bill Omar Carrasquillo, 38, was arrested in 2019 and charged in a scheme to sell copyrighted cable TV programs to 800,000 subscribers on his online firestick service.
Omi and two of his associates must forfeit nearly $35 million in assets, including over 50 luxury cars and motorcycles, as well as dozens of homes and businesses in the Philadelphia area.
Omi’s companies operated under different names, including Gears TV, Reboot, Reloaded and Gears.
Users paid a monthly fee to access premium cable TV and sports content through firesticks.
Omi argued that his enterprise was legal after he obtained set-top boxes from an online retailer.
“It was legal until he crossed the line into having some recordings on his platform,” according to prosecutors. “Omar knows he went too far with his product in his effort to stay competitive and he broke the law.”
“Once he added copyrighted works, it became felony criminal activity,” the prosecutor said.
Omi’s illegal enterprise earned him over $30 million between March 2016 and November 2019 when his mansions were raided by the feds. Feds also froze his girlfriend’s bank accounts.
The Philadelphia native was convicted of conspiracy, violating the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, reproduction of a protected work, access device fraud, making false statements to a bank, income tax evasion and money laundering.
While out on bond, Omi continued to taunt the feds on his YouTube channel and in interviews with other influencers.
Over the past month, he uploaded videos to his popular YouTube channel with titles such as “Taking Delivery of a 2023 TRX RAM” and “Burning My Belanciagas.”
In one video last month, Omi said he was thinking about becoming a jeweler.
Omi’s lawyer said his client is being falsely accused, and that his enterprise was legit. He described his client as a high school dropout who grew up in poverty and abuse in Philadelphia.
