ALBANY, NEW YORK – In a shocking case of cybercrime, Michael P. Fish, a 26-year-old Albany resident, was sentenced to 111 months in prison for stealing nude photos of numerous victims and possessing child pornography.
According to court documents, Fish, a former law student, had been accessing the school email accounts of dozens of female SUNY-Plattsburgh students between 2016 and 2019. He used this information to gain unauthorized access to their social media accounts, where he stole and traded private nude photographs and videos.
The victims, many of whom were students at the time, suffered significant emotional distress as a result of Fish’s actions. The school was also forced to allocate resources to identify and notify the compromised accounts, review computer and server access logs, and reset passwords.
Fish was also found to be in possession of several videos of child pornography on his laptop computer. This discovery led to additional charges and a longer prison sentence.
As part of the sentencing, United States District Judge Mae A. D’Agostino also imposed a 15-year term of supervised release, which will start after Fish is released from prison. Fish was ordered to pay $35,430 in restitution to SUNY-Plattsburgh.
A co-conspirator, Nicholas Faber, was previously sentenced to 36 months in prison for computer hacking and aggravated identity theft offenses. Fish is also facing additional charges for obstruction of justice, which remain pending.
The case was investigated by the FBI with substantial assistance from the SUNY-Plattsburgh Police Department. Deputy Chief Michael Stawasz from the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joshua R. Rosenthal and Wayne A. Myers, prosecuted the case.
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Key Facts
- State: New York
- Category: Crime|Cybercrime|Sex Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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