The man who figured out how to get into the email accounts of dozens of celebrities learned that crime doesn’t pay and he will spend the next 10 years in prison.
The man behind leaked pics of several women is sentenced to 10 years in prison.
A Florida man learned today that naked pictures of celebrities are not worth it. Christopher Chaney admitted to hacking into the email accounts of Mila Kunis, Scarlett Johansson and Christina Aguilera, and on Monday was given 10 years in prison for his crimes.
“U.S. District Court Judge S. James Otero sentenced Christopher Chaney, 35, of Jacksonville, Fla., after hearing how he intruded into the lives of dozens of celebrities and others and in some cases passed naked images along on the Internet,” according to the LA Times.
Those celebrities included some big names, such as Kunis, Johansson and Aguilera, but also many others. However, Chaney said he never made any money off the photos.
“Chaney… had already pleaded guilty in Los Angeles federal court to nine counts of computer hacking and wiretapping for the unauthorized access of email accounts belonging to 50 people in the entertainment industry,” said the LA Times. “Once Chaney got photos of the celebrities and other information, he forwarded the material to another hacker and two celebrity websites that made them public, according to a plea agreement.”
Chaney said he hacked their accounts by “taking their email addresses, clicking on the ‘Forgot your password?’ feature and then resetting the passwords by correctly answering their security questions using publicly available information he found by searching the Internet,” said the LA Times.
According to reports, he also used those email addresses to find other “targets” to hack. He also rigged most of their accounts so that their messages would be forwarded to him, and most of the victims didn’t notice.
“Chaney obtained numerous private communications, private photographs and confidential documents from the victims’ email accounts, according to the indictment,” said the LA Times. “The confidential documents included business contracts, scripts, letters, driver’s license information and Social Security information, the indictment said.”
Those photographs included nude photos of Johansson, which were reportedly meant for her then-husband Ryan Reynolds.
“The sentencing occurred after the court watched a videotaped statement from an emotional Johansson,” said Gawker. “‘I have been truly humiliated and embarrassed,’ she said, apparently crying. ‘I find Christopher Chaney’s actions to be perverted and reprehensible.'”
They also said he used the email accounts to contact friends of the victims, asking for personal information, including photographs. Even though Chaney was given a 10-year sentence, he could have been sentenced to up to 60 years.
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