Close X
Saturday, November 30, 2024
ADVT 
International

Pennsylvania Man, 36, Admits To Stealing Hollywood Stars' Nude Images

Darpan News Desk, 16 Mar, 2016 01:44 PM
    LOS ANGELES — A Pennsylvania man has agreed to plead guilty to hacking into the email and online accounts of several female celebrities and stealing private information, including nude photos and videos, federal prosecutors announced Tuesday.
     
    Ryan Collins, 36, is accused of gaining access to more than 100 Google and Apple accounts, many belonging to famous women, between November 2012 and September 2014.
     
    The Lancaster, Pennsylvania, man agreed to plead guilty to one count of gaining unauthorized access to a protected computer to obtain information, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
     
    Collins used a scheme called phishing in which he was able to get victims to provide information about their accounts in response to emails that appeared to come directly from Apple and Google, according to prosecutors. In some instances, he was able to obtain all the files his victims had stored online, including nude photos and videos.
     
    No celebrities are identified in a plea agreement filed Tuesday. There is no evidence Collins posted any of the pilfered images online, the U.S. Attorney's Office stated.
     
     
    Collins was charged as part of an investigation into the posting of nude photos of numerous celebrities, including Jennifer Lawrence and model Kate Upton, but he is not suspected of being involved in releasing those images, a news release stated.
     
    Attorney information for Collins was not immediately available.
     
    An investigation into who stole and posted images of Lawrence and dozens of other female stars is ongoing.
     
    In February, an Oregon man agreed to plead guilty to stealing nude or explicit images from 13 people, including some unidentified celebrities. Andrew Helton of Astoria, Oregon, faces up to five years in prison when he is sentenced June 2.
     
    Authorities have said Helton is not suspected of being involved in the theft of the images of Lawrence and others.
     
    Federal prosecutors in Los Angeles have gotten convictions of several men accused of stealing nude images, including images of Scarlett Johansson and Mila Kunis. They also prosecuted the man who surreptitiously videotaped television sports reporter Erin Andrews in her hotel room and posted the video online. Michael David Barrett was sentenced to 27 months in prison in that case.

    MORE International ARTICLES

    Trump, Clinton Solidly On Course For Party Nominations

    Trump, Clinton Solidly On Course For Party Nominations
    Donald Trump offered himself Wednesday as the inevitable Republican presidential nominee, warning that if party leaders try to deny him the nomination at a contested convention when he is leading the delegate count, "You'd have riots."

    Trump, Clinton Solidly On Course For Party Nominations

    Secrets Of England's First Printed Bible Revealed

    Secrets Of England's First Printed Bible Revealed
    Historians have uncovered secrets of England's first printed Bible -- one of only seven surviving copies and which is housed in London's Lambeth Palace Library, a media report said.

    Secrets Of England's First Printed Bible Revealed

    Two Indian-Americans Win $150000 Top Prize In Intel Science Talent Search Contest

    Two Indian-Americans Win $150000 Top Prize In Intel Science Talent Search Contest
    Breaking a three-year dry spell for Indian-Americans, two 17-year-old high school students have won the top prize of $150,000 with their medical-related projects in the prestigious Intel Science Talent Search contest

    Two Indian-Americans Win $150000 Top Prize In Intel Science Talent Search Contest

    Obama Picks Judge Garland As Supreme Court Court Nominee Over Indian American Sri Srinivasan

    Obama Picks Judge Garland As Supreme Court Court Nominee Over Indian American Sri Srinivasan
    Obama's nominee Merrick Garland, 63, a judge on the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, is much older than Chandigarh-born Srinivasan and other contenders on his short list such as judges Paul Watford and Jane Kelly.

    Obama Picks Judge Garland As Supreme Court Court Nominee Over Indian American Sri Srinivasan

    Syrian Activist Say Senior Islamic State Leader Dead

    Syrian Activist Say Senior Islamic State Leader Dead
    US Army Col. Warren, told reporters on Friday that the airstrike that targeted al-Shishani was part of a series of coalition strikes targeting IS leadership.

    Syrian Activist Say Senior Islamic State Leader Dead

    Justin Trudeau Expected To Announce Canada Seeking UN Security Council Seat

    Justin Trudeau Expected To Announce Canada Seeking UN Security Council Seat
    Trudeau is in New York on Wednesday for meetings with Secretary General Ban Ki-moon

    Justin Trudeau Expected To Announce Canada Seeking UN Security Council Seat

    PrevNext