O.J. Simpson has been ordered to pay a $25,000 judgment to DirecTV Inc. for stealing satellite services.
The satellite service had the former football player prosecuted for signal theft in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
The civil case was based on evidence collected when Simpson's Miami home was raided in December 2001. At that time, two piracy devices, called bootloaders, were recovered. The company said such devices are used to intercept satellite programming.
In the past, bootloaders were used to restore service to access cards that had been disabled by electronic countermeasures from the programming provider. DirecTV has since developed more secure access cards.
According to DirecTV, Simpson did not have a legitimate satellite account and admitted that the devices were installed at the home. Given the evidence, the judge Tuesday granted DirecTV a summary judgment and awarded damages, plus court costs and attorney's fees.
"This ruling serves as a reminder that there are consequences to signal theft, whether you're O.J. Simpson or John Q. Public," DirecTV executive vice president of legal and business affairs Dan Fawcett said in a prepared statement.
