A man from Bahamas has been accused by Federal
prosecutors of hacking around 130 accounts of celebrities.
Twenty three years-old, Alonzo Knowles from
Freeport was arrested on Monday (December 21) after he allegedly boasted to
undercover agents of possessing dossiers on at least 130 accounts of stars in
entertainment, sport and the media. He also claimed to own a sex tape too.
After
the arrest, he offered to sell the undercover agent about 15 TV and movie
scripts for $80,000.
He was held without bail on criminal copyright
infringement and identity theft charges after appearing in New York’s court.
Prosecutors told the court that Knowles owned
an actor's passport and the social security numbers for three professional
athletes while gaining simultaneous access to unreleased tracks from a
singer-songwriters upcoming album and an explicit video from a radio host’s
email account.
Though the victims were not identified but
prosecutor Kristy Greenberg told the judge that several people were traumatized
by the theft of their personal information.
The
investigation began earlier this month Department of Homeland Security
investigators was contacted by a popular radio show’s executive producer when
the host informed him of an offer received by someone selling scripts for the
next season of a popular TV drama.
Authorities
followed that offer to Knowles who called himself Jeff Moxey and claimed to
have exclusive content worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Knowles claimed
to hack into celebrity accounts by sending either a computer virus or a false
warning that the target’s account had been compromised and using that information
he changed the account’s email settings so that he could maintain ongoing
access.
The case
comes at a time when security is a sensitive subject in Hollywood.
Hackers broke
into Sony Pictures Entertainment computers last year and released a number of
emails, documents, Social Security numbers and other personal information.
Last
year, hackers also broke into female celebrities' personal Apple accounts,
stole nude photos and posted them on the web.
Actresses
Jennifer Lawrence and Mary Elizabeth Winstead were among the victims.