Eight members of a gang who stole films online to show on their own websites were sentenced to up to four and half years in jail, Shanghai No. 3 Intermediate People's Court said on Wednesday.

The movies included Chinese sci-fi blockbuster “The Wandering Earth,” crime drama “Integrity” and comedy “Crazy Alien.”

Prosecutors said a man surnamed Chen had been entrusted by people overseas to employ seven others and run at least seven pirate websites between July 2017 and March 2019.

Links to illegal advertisements for overseas gambling sites were added to the movies. The amount involved exceeded 12.5 million yuan (US$1.78 million).

The court said the gang set up a QQ group for members to communicate with each other. Chen was responsible for assigning tasks and paying the other members. Another man, Lin, was in charge of recruitment and training.

The others stole the movies from online providers and resource-sharing platforms and uploaded them to the gang’s websites.

Chen made around 500,000 yuan from the deal, while the other gang members got from 80,000 to 160,000 yuan.

Chen was jailed for four and a half years and fined 500,000 yuan. Sentences on the others ranged from 10 months to two years and 10 months along with fines.