'Fappening' Hacker Gets 9 Months in Prison for Celebrity Nude Photo Hack

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A man involved in the celebrity nude-photo scandal Celebgate, also known as “The Fappening,” has been sentenced to nine months in prison, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Justice told TheWrap on Tuesday.

Edward Majerczyk, of Illinois, was also ordered to pay restitution to one of his victims.

Majerczyk agreed to plead guilty last year to a felony violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, specifically, one count of unauthorized access to a protected computer to obtain information. He faced a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

Also Read: 'Fappening' Hacker Gets 18 Months in Prison in Nude Celebrity Photo Case

While Majerczyk was charged in Los Angeles, the case was transferred to the Northern District of Illinois, where he was sentenced.

In his plea agreement, Majerczyk admitted that, from Nov. 23, 2013 through Aug. 2014, he engaged in a phishing scheme to obtain user names and passwords for his victims, including such stars as Jennifer Lawrence, Kate Upton, Kaley Cuoco and Kirsten Dunst.

He sent emails to victims that appeared to be from security accounts of internet service providers that directed the victims to a website that would collect the victims’ usernames and passwords.

Also Read: Google Responds to $100 Million Lawsuit Threat Over Nude Photo Leaks

After victims responded by entering information at that website, Majerczyk had access to victims’ usernames and passwords. After illegally accessing the iCloud and Gmail accounts, Majerczyk obtained personal information including sensitive and private photographs and videos, according to his plea agreement.

According to authorities, Majerczyk accessed at least 300 accounts, and at least 30 accounts belonging to celebrities.

Also Read: Revenge Porn Attorney on Hollywood Nude Photo Hacks: A Few 'Shrill Harpies' Want It Equated to Rape

While the charge against Majerczyk stemmed from the investigation into the leaks of photographs of numerous female celebrities in September 2014, investigators did not uncover any evidence linking Majerczyk to the actual leaks.

Many of Majerczyk’s victims were members of the entertainment industry in Los Angeles.

In October, hacker Ryan Collins was sentenced to 18 months in prison for his role in the widespread nude photo hack.

Nude Photo Hacks: From Leslie Jones to WWE's Paige (Photos)

Sadly, numerous female celebrities have been attacked by hackers, who stole personal information as well as sexually explicit photos from their phones and computers.
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Leslie Jones

Jones is the latest victim of nude photo hackers, with her personal website being vandalized and several explicit photos posted before the site was taken down

The Department of Homeland Security has opened an investigation into the hack, which many believe was perpetrated by a fan of former Breitbart editor Milo Yiannopoulos, who was banned from Twitter after his "targeted abuse" of the comedian.
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Scarlett Johansson

"The Avengers" star has been the victim of hackers multiple times. Nude photos of the actress were released online in 2011 and again in the massive 2014 hack.

The perpetrator in the 2011 incident was eventually sentenced to 10 years in prison.
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Jennifer Lawrence

Lawrence was among the most high-profile victims of the 2014 hack. She came out strongly against those who viewed the pictures, saying doing so was "a sex crime."
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Kaley Cuoco

"The Big Bang Theory" star was also caught up in the 2014 hack, and took it in stride with a cheeky Instagram post.
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Selena Gomez

The 2014 hack immediately drew the attention of the FBI, which began investigating the event that claimed over 100 victims, most of them celebrities.
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Kirsten Dunst

Pennsylvania resident Ryan Collins was eventually captured and charged with illegally accessing the Google and Apple accounts of numerous celebrities, though their identities weren't made public.
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Kate Upton

Collins eventually pleaded guilty to one count of unauthorized access to a protected computer to obtain information, receiving an 18-month prison sentence in the plea deal.
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Rihanna

Collins was not the only one charged in the hack. Edward Majerczyk of Chicago was also arrested in connection with the data breach.
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Meagan Good

Majerczyk faced the same charge as Collins: one count of unauthorized access to a protected computer.
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Mary Elizabeth Winstead

Majerczyk pleaded guilty to the charge in July 2016. The maximum sentence for the charge of unauthorized access to a protected computer is five years.
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Kim Kardashian

In January 2017, Majerczyk received a sentence of nine months in jail as part of a plea deal. Majerczyk also was ordered to pay $5,700 in restitution for counseling services for one unnamed celebrity because of the harm caused by the hack.
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Paige

WWE Divas star Paige stated on Twitter that "personal and private" photos of her had been stolen and leaked online in March 2017. The leak is possibly part of a reportedly larger hack affecting several celebrity women. Like other victims of the apparent larger leak, photos of Paige, whose real name is Saraya-Jade Bevis, appeared on the website Celebrity Jihad.
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Sadly, numerous female celebrities have been attacked by hackers, who stole personal information as well as sexually explicit photos from their phones and computers.

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