DirecTV Inc. said that Martin Mullen, also known as Martin Stewart, was sentenced earlier this week by the U.S. District Court of the Middle District of Florida to seven years in prison and ordered to pay DirecTV and a subsidiary of NDS Ltd., DirecTV’s smart card provider, $24 million in restitution.

According to DirecTV, Mullen admitted he was engaged in a comprehensive satellite television piracy scheme involving an army of more than 100 sub-dealers and the distribution of thousands of illegal smart cards in Canada and the United States.