Second 'celebgate' hacker sentenced to nine months in prison
According to the man's attorney, the hacked photos were only for "personal use."
For his part in the "celebgate" celebrity hacking scandal, 29-year-old Chicago man Edward Majerczyk will be sentenced to nine months in federal prison. Last July, Majerczyk agreed to plead guilty to felony computer hacking charges, admitting that he scammed more than 300 people, including 30 celebrities, in order to steal their Gmail and iCloud account info.
As Reuters reports, none of the celebrity victims were actually named in the court documents, but the investigation was launched after the iCloud breach crudely known as the Fappenning made headlines across the web. According to his attorney, Majerczyk "consistently expressed remorse" for the hacking and had been suffering from depression at the time. Even though he pled guilty to the charges, the Justice Department's investigation never found a connection to the leaks themselves and in a memorandum filed last week, Majerczyk's attorney insisted that the hacked material was for "personal use."
36-year-old Ryan Collins of Pennsylvania was also tied to the hacking. Collins pled guilty to one count of violating the Computer Fraud and Misuse Act, and another count of illegally obtaining access to a computer. For his part in Celebgate, Collins will serve an 18-month sentence.
