La Puente man gets nine years in prison for hacking iCloud accounts, stealing private photos
LA PUENTE – A man from La Puente received his just rewards in Florida Federal Court for stealing nude photos and images from Apple iCloud accounts – and building an insidious, lucrative business from it. Known As “icloudripper4you”, Hao Kuo Chi (41) was sentenced to nine years in federal prison for conspiracy and computer fraud.
Chi had pleaded guilty on October 15, 2021, and U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle slapped the cybercriminal-sentence in Tampa, Florida on June 16, 2022.
While delving into what is known as “Revenge Porn” – where helpless individuals are photographed and posted online – the man touted himself as a source for these images, and built a business serving hundreds of customers. According to court documents, Chi operated for years on a now-defunct website known as “Anon-IB.”
His network of customers met on Anon-IB – according to the Department of Justice: “a place notorious for posting explicit and intimate images of others shared without consent and with the intent to intimidate, harass, or embarrass—commonly known as “revenge porn.” Chi hacked into the Apple iCloud accounts of victims across the United States in search of nude photographs and videos of young women, which he referred to as “wins.”
Using the online moniker “icloudripper4you,” he then shared and traded these images from his email accounts containing the iCloud credentials of nearly 4,700 victims. Proof of content sent to conspirators on more than 300 occasions revealed victims’ stolen images.
The U.S. Attorneys Office added, “Some of those conspirators subsequently released the images into the public sphere.” Many of Chi’s “Wins” were also kept for his own personal collection. Court documents specified that Chi maintained approximately 3.5 terabytes of victim data on cloud and physical storage, containing content attributable to more than 500 victims, as the case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Carlton C. Gammons.
“Chi victimized hundreds of women across the country, making them fear for their safety and reputations,” said U.S. Attorney Roger Handberg. “This sentence reflects the resolve of the U.S. Attorney’s Office to hold cybercriminals responsible for their crimes.”
As this case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, extensive dedicated action took place – some of which was brought to light in the courtroom.
“This man led a terror campaign from his computer, causing fear and distress to hundreds of victims. The FBI is committed to protecting the American people by exposing these cybercriminals and bringing them to justice,” said David Walker, FBI Tampa Division Special Agent in Charge.
