Suspect Allegedly Hacked Into Accounts of Scarlett Johansson, Mila Kunis, Other Stars
Suspect allegedly hacked accounts of Scarlett Johansson, other stars.
Oct. 12, 2011— -- A Florida man was arrested Wednesday for allegedly hacking into the emails of Scarlett Johansson, Mila Kunis and other high-wattage stars and leaking private photos of the women to Internet sites.
The FBI, which spearheaded a year-long investigation dubbed "Operation Hackerazzi," identified the man in custody as Christopher Chaney, 35, of Jacksonville, Fla.
According to an indictment handed up Wednesday, Chaney allegedly victimized at least 50 female celebrities. Many of the victims are identified by their initials, however the indictment lists Scarlett Johannson, Christina Aguilera and Mila Kunis as victims.
Celebrities who have recently fallen prey to hacking include: Jessica Alba, Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato, Vanessa Hudgens, Ali Larter, and Miley Cyrus.
According to the website TMZ, at least 50 female celebrities have had their emails and cell phones hacked in the past year.
Chaney allegedly hacked Google, Apple and Yahoo email accounts beginning last November or December, according to the indictment. Using the hacker names "trainreqsuckswhat," "anonygrrl" and "jaxjaguars911, he then commandeered the accounts so a copy of every email received was immediately sent to his own account in a matter of seconds.
Johansson's photos were taken down from several prominent web sites after her lawyer threatened legal action.
"Just because you're in the spotlight, or just because you're an actor or make films or whatever doesn't mean you're not entitled to your own personal privacy," Johansson told CNN two weeks ago, speaking out first time about her nightmare.
The person behind Kunis' cell phone hack leaked four pictures to TMZ. Two show Justin Timberlake looking seductive. In one picture, he's lying shirtless in bed. In another, he jokingly wears a pair of pink panties on his head.
There's another photo of Mila in the bathtub, showing only her head. And one photo shows an unidentified nude man.The hacker has also posted some texts which he claimed are exchanges between Timberlake and Kunis.
Chaney is being charged with 25 counts of identity theft, unauthorized access and unauthorized damage to a protected computer. If convicted on all counts, Chaney faces a maximum of 121 years in prison.
He was released on a $10,000 bond, The Associated Press reported.
The Associated Press contributed to this report