[Iliketurtles]

http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/12...-from-victims/

A San Diego man has been charged with running a website that let people anonymously post explicit photographs of others so he could extort hundreds of dollars from the victims.

Kevin Christopher Bollaert, 27, was arrested by California Department of Justice agents for conspiracy, identity theft and extortion.

He created the “revenge porn” website ugotposted.com a year ago, court documents say.

The site let people anonymously post more than 10,000 nude and explicit photographs of others without their permission.

Unlike most such sites, investigators said ugotposted.com required the victim be identified by name, age and other information, leading to the identity theft allegations. Mr. Bollaert is charged with obtaining identifying information with the intent to annoy or harass.


The documents say Mr. Bollaert charged victims US$249.99 to US$350 to remove the images, using emails sent through a second website, changemyreputation.com. That led to the extortion charges.

Both websites were inactive as of Tuesday.

The man’s activities “turned their public humiliation and betrayal into a commodity with the potential to devastate lives,” Attorney General Kamala Harris said.

Mr. Bollaert, who grew up in Illinois and moved to California a few years ago, is being held in San Diego County jail in lieu of US$50,000 bail.

The department says he told investigators during a six-month investigation he received about $900 each month from online advertising. However, records from his changemyreputation.com PayPal account show the sum was closer to tens of thousands of dollars.

In one case, investigator Brian Cardwell said a woman in Virginia said she was hanging out with a man who ran off with her cellphone, hid in a washroom and transferred her private photos to his phone, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.

Another woman in Los Angeles said her images were removed from her Facebook account and sent to her relatives, then all her online passwords were changed by an unknown person.

The investigator said that victim posted a message on the porn site, pleading, “Please help! I am scared for my life! People are calling my workplace and they obtained that information through this site! … these pictures need to come down! Please!”

In an unrelated federal case, Mr. Bollaert is charged with making false statements — giving a false home address — while acquiring 31 firearms from gun dealers in San Diego.

[Kelseecat65]

"Another woman in Los Angeles said her images were removed from her Facebook account and sent to her relatives"
Who uploads explicit photos of themselves to their FB...are people really that stupid?

[Megamel29]

This guy is a creep and so are the people who sent him pictures. He should go to jail for this. Just because someone takes a picture of themselves nude or in risque clothing or positions doesn't mean that they deserve to have everyone see those pictures. It's nobodies business.