A 41-year-old California man has been sentenced to nine years in federal prison for stealing nude photographs and images from Apple iCloud accounts.
Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle handed down the sentence to Hao Kuo Chi (La Puente, California) for conspiracy and computer fraud on October 15, 2021.
According to court documents, Chi operated on Anon-IB, a notorious website for posting explicit and intimate images of others without consent. He referred to his victims as ‘wins,’ which were nude photographs and videos of young women he hacked into Apple iCloud accounts to obtain.
Chi used the online moniker ‘icloudripper4you’ to share and trade these images with conspirators he met on Anon-IB. His email accounts contained the iCloud credentials of approximately 4,700 victims, and he sent stolen content to conspirators on more than 300 occasions.
Some of those conspirators released the images into the public sphere, causing fear and distress to hundreds of victims. Chi maintained approximately 3.5 terabytes of victim data on cloud and physical storage, containing content attributable to more than 500 victims.
“Chi victimized hundreds of women across the country, making them fear for their safety and reputations,” said U.S. Attorney Roger Handberg. “This sentence reflects the resolve of the U.S. Attorney’s Office to hold cybercriminals responsible for their crimes.”
This case was investigated by Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Carlton C. Gammons.
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- David Earl Tucker, Stolen Identity Tax Refund Fraud, Florida 2023 · Texas
- Margaret Mary Epps, Immigration Fraud, Florida 2016 · Oklahoma
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Key Facts
- State: Florida
- Category: Sex Crimes|Cybercrime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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