Lancaster Hacker Ryan Collins Gets 18 Months for Celeb Email Breach

Ryan Collins, 36, of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, is headed to federal prison for 18 months after pleading guilty to hacking into more than 100 Apple and Google email accounts, including those of numerous female celebrities. The case, tied to the notorious 2014 “Celebgate” photo leaks, exposed a vast phishing scheme that exploited trust in tech giants to steal intimate personal data.

Collins was sentenced yesterday by United States District Court Judge William W. Caldwell in Harrisburg. He was taken into custody immediately after the hearing. Prosecutors say the scheme ran from November 2012 until early September 2014, during which Collins sent fake emails appearing to come from Apple or Google, tricking victims into surrendering login credentials.

Once inside the accounts, Collins accessed private emails, nude photos, and videos. He also used software to download entire iCloud backups from at least 50 accounts. Investigators confirmed he accessed 72 Gmail accounts and targeted members of the entertainment industry, though no evidence links him to the actual public release of stolen images.

Collins also ran a modeling scam, luring victims into sending nude photographs under false pretenses. Federal authorities identified over 600 victims nationwide, many of whom were women in the entertainment field based in Los Angeles. Despite the scale, Collins admitted to not sharing or uploading the stolen content himself.

The case was originally filed in Los Angeles, where FBI agents led the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ryan White and Vicki Chou handled the plea agreement. For convenience, the case was transferred to the Middle District of Pennsylvania, near Collins’ home, for the formal guilty plea and sentencing.

Collins pleaded guilty in May to one count of unauthorized access to a protected computer, a felony under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania oversaw the final stages of prosecution. The case underscores the ongoing threat of phishing attacks and the vulnerability of cloud-based personal data.

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