Hunter Moore and accomplice were charged with 15 counts
He was once coined “the Net’s most hated man” by the BBC. But now, FBI special agents arrested and indicted Hunter Moore, founder and former operator of the revenge-porn site IsAnyoneUp.com, and an accomplice Thursday on 15 counts of email hacking.
Per the indictment, Moore, 27, and Charles “Gary” Evans, 25, hacked into hundreds of email accounts to steal nude photos of users and later post them on the Internet.
FBI stated that Moore apparently paid Evans, with individual payments ranging from $135 to $900, for finding such pictures in the hacked accounts.
The men were officially charged with conspiracy, seven counts of unauthorized access to a protected computer for informational gain and seven counts of aggravated identity theft. The document listed seven victims solely by initials and said their accounts contained nude images of themselves, others, “among other things.”
In a 2012 Rolling Stone interview, Hunter Moore claimed that he did not know how to hack. However, starting in October 2011, the charge listed close to 60 “overt acts” in which Evans discussed with Moore how to hack into emails and the legality of the process.
During its 16-month stint, IsAnyoneUp.com allowed visitors to submit compromising photos of their former partners without permission. Once published, the pictures would appear next to the person’s full name, profession, city of residence and social media profiles for others’ delight and mockery.
If found guilty, Moore and Evans could face up to five years in federal prison for each count of conspiracy and hacking. An aggravated identity theft charge involves a two-year mandatory sentence immediately following any other charge established in the case.
