'Revenge porn' site operator arrested on hacking charges
An indictment accuses the site operator of paying another man to hack into the e-mail accounts of hundreds of women to steal sexually explicit images.
Hunter Moore, the operator of a so-called "revenge porn" Web site, was arrested Thursday on federal charges he paid a man to break into the e-mail accounts of hundreds of women in order to obtain sexually explicit photos.
The images then showed up on isanyoneup.com, a revenge porn site operated by the 27-year-old Moore, according to an indictment filed Thursday in federal court in Los Angeles. The indictment (see below) charges Moore and Charles "Gary" Evens, 25, with conspiracy to "access a protected computer without authorization to obtain information for private financial gain" and other counts.
Moore encouraged Evens to "hack all week" for images with a steady stream of payments of up to $900, according to the indictment, which was first reported by Ars Technica. To hide their trail, the defendants used anonymous PayPal accounts to transfer payments for the illegally obtained images, prosecutors charged.
How the alleged scheme worked, according to the 15-charge indictment:
Defendant EVENS would gain unauthorized access to the e-mail accounts of hundreds of victims (the "victims' accounts") by various means, including "hacking" into the victims' accounts, and obtain information, including nude pictures, belonging to the victims and stored on the victims' accounts.
Defendant EVENS would send nude pictures obtained from the victims' accounts to defendant MOORE in exchange for payment.
Defendant MOORE, aware that defendant EVENS had obtained the nude pictures by gaining unauthorized access into the victims' accounts, would send payments to defendant EVENS using PayPal or directly from his bank account in exchange for the nude pictures, would offer defendant EVENS additional money to obtain unlawfully additional nude pictures, and would post the victims' nude pictures on his website, http://isanyoneup.com, without the victims' authorization.
The indictment, which lists dozens of overt acts detailing the alleged scheme, charges the pair with conspiracy, unauthorized access to a protected computer, and aggravated identity theft.
Officials have stepped up prosecution of suspected operators of revenge porn sites, pages that encourage people to upload explicit images of former lovers.
In December, California law enforcement officials charged a San Diego man with 31 felony counts for allegedly posting more than 10,000 sexually explicit photographs of individuals without their permission. Kevin Christopher Bollaert, 27, allegedly operated ugotposted.com, which allowed users to anonymously post private photographs containing nude and explicit images of individuals without their permission. Bollaert was also charged with extortion for allegedly demanding money from victims who wanted their images removed.