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Feds cuff revenge smut site boss Hunter Moore on hacking charges

Sex pic kingpin and alleged accomplice to appear in court today

FBI agents today arrested Hunter Moore – best known for running the infamous revenge porn website isanyoneup.com – on charges of conspiracy, hacking and identity theft.

The US Department of Justice (DoJ) said that Moore, and a second man called Charles "Gary" Evens, were both nabbed in California: Moore will now appear this afternoon, San Francisco time, before a federal court, while Evens will be up before a district bench.

According to an indictment [PDF] filed in the US District Court in Los Angeles, and obtained by The Register, Moore and Evens allegedly conspired to hack victims' online accounts in order to steal sexually explicit photos which were then posted to isanyoneup.com.

The website allowed people to share graphic snaps of their former lovers, along with their names, city of residence, occupation and links to their social network profiles.

The indictment claims that Moore, of Woodland, California, instructed Evens, also of California, to steal nude pictures from internet accounts, and regularly paid him for the photos through Paypal accounts. These acts were said to have taken place between October of 2011 and March of 2012.

"Defendant Moore, aware that defendant Evens had obtained the nude pictures by gaining unauthorized access into the victims' accounts, would send payments to defendant Evens using Paypal or directly from his bank account in exchange for the nude pictures, would offer defendant Evens additional money to obtain unlawfully additional nude pictures, and would post the victims' nude pictures on his website," the indictment claims. Both men are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Each are charged with 15 counts: one of conspiracy, seven counts of unauthorized access to a protected computer and seven counts of identity theft. The DoJ said the identity-theft charge would bring a mandatory two-year sentence while the conspiracy and hacking charges could bring up to five years, if convicted.

Dubbed "the most hated man on the internet," by Rolling Stone magazine, Moore has been unapologetic about his so-called revenge porn site, which shuttered in late 2012 amid a firestorm of criticism and accusations it invaded people's privacy.

Last year, California passed a law seemingly aimed at revenge smut sites. Moore dismissed the effort, predicting that the law would, if anything, bring more traffic to the sites. ®

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