California readers may be familiar with Hunter Moore, often referred to as the “revenge porn king.” Moore, a California native, created a website, which reportedly posted provocative photos of woman and men that were provided or uploaded by jilted ex-lovers. While the website has long-been a source of controversy, it was reported that Moore and a business associate were just recently indicted for multiple federal crimes in a California federal court that are related to the now notorious website.
According to news reports, federal authorities arrested Moore and a business associate the other week for allegedly hacking into email accounts in order to steal naked photos. Authorities claim that Moore paid his accomplice to hack into private online accounts to get the content for his website. The indictment against Moore and his associate currently name seven victims. The federal investigation into the alleged criminal activity first began largely at the behest of one of the victim’s mother’s.
Federal prosecutors have charged Moore and his alleged accomplice in the scheme with multiple counts of criminal activity. The federal charges against the men currently include conspiracy, seven counts of unauthorized access of a protected computer in order to obtain information and seven federal counts of aggravated identity theft. If convicted of the federal offenses, Moore and his associate could face five years on each of hacking and conspiracy count, as well as two years for aggravated identity theft.
Building a strong criminal defense to complex computer crimes such as hacking and identity theft can take a lot of time and resources. In such cases, it is imperative that those accused of such crimes seek the aide of qualified and experienced professionals. Navigating the complex world of the American legal system can be hard enough on its own. When you are dealing with a complex cyber crime the need for an experienced defense attorney is much more than a good idea it is imperative to a successful case.
Source: NBC 4, “‘Revenge Porn’ Kingpin Hunter Moore Faces Federal Charges,” Jonathan Lloyd & Rosa Ordaz, Jan. 24, 2014