Revenge Porn Mogul Indicted on Federal Conspiracy Charges
Jan. 23, 2014— -- Hunter Moore, the so-called "revenge porn" mogul, was indicted by a federal grand jury today on charges that he and another man conspired to hack into victims' email accounts to steal nude photos that were later posted on the website, isanyoneup.com.
"Moore and Evens are charged in a 15-count indictment unsealed after they were arrested this morning. The indictment charges both men with conspiracy, seven counts of unauthorized access to a protected computer to obtain information and seven counts of aggravated identity theft," according to a statement from federal prosecutors.
FBI agents arrested Moore, 27, of Woodland, Calif., who founded isanyoneup.com, and Charles "Gary" Evens, 25, of Studio City, Calif., according to Thom Mrozek, a spokesperson at the United States Attorney's Office in Los Angeles.
Moore appeared with his attorney David Dratman in the U.S. district court in Sacramento this afternoon, Mrozek said. Prosecutors are seeking to have Moore held without bond, and he will remain in custody until a detention hearing scheduled for Friday. Evens also was scheduled to make court appearance today in the Los Angeles district court.
Requests for comment from Moore's attorney were not immediately returned.
Read the Full Indictment Against Hunter Moore, Charles Evens
A "revenge porn" website is a site that allows users to anonymously upload sexually explicit photos or videos of their exes without their consent, and, in some cases, display their victims' personal information, for the purposes of public humiliation. Some of these sites allow users to comment on the photos and videos.
Just as YouTube hosts other people's videos, isanyoneup.com and other revenge porn websites often fall into the same category -- the person submitting the picture accepts full responsibility for uploading it.
According to the indictment, Moore paid Evens to hack into victims' email accounts, without the victims' knowledge, on several occasions to obtain nude photos to post on isanyoneup.com for "purposes of private financial gain."
FBI officials told "Nightline" in May 2012 that they were actively investigating Moore. Cases about specific victims mentioned in the indictment date back to December 2011.
When "Nightline" spoke with Moore in April 2012, he denied that he ever hacked anyone's computer to get naked photos.
But Moore boasted to "Nightline" at the time that he was a self-proclaimed "professional life ruin-er" and he had no scruples about hosting the website because the people on it were simply "characters and avatars and icons on a screen" to him and he wanted to take "full advantage of people's mistakes."
Isanyoneup.com was shut down in April 2012 after Moore sold it to the anti-bullying website Bullyville.com, a social website on which people can share stories about being bullied.
If convicted, Moore and Evens could face up to five years in federal prison for each conspiracy and computer hacking counts.
