California Department of Justice agents arrested a San Diego man suspected of owning and operating a revenge porn website, posting more than 10,000 sexually explicit photos and extorting money from victims to remove the illicit content.
Agents arrested Kevin Christopher Bollaert, 27, on December 10, 2013. He is being held in San Diego County jail on $50,000 bail. According to documents filed in San Diego County Superior Court, Bollaert has been charged with 31 felony counts of conspiracy, identity theft and extortion and is facing possible jail time and fines.
“This website published intimate photos of unsuspecting victims and turned their public humiliation and betrayal into a commodity with the potential to devastate lives,” Attorney General Harris said. “Online predators that profit from the extortion of private photos will be investigated and prosecuted for this reprehensible and illegal internet activity.”
Court documents allege that, in December 2012, Bollaert created the website ugotposted.com, which allows the anonymous, public posting of private photographs containing nude and explicit images of individuals without their permission. Commonly known as "revenge porn," the photos are typically obtained consensually by the poster during a prior relationship or are stolen or hacked. Unlike many other revenge porn websites where the subject of the photos is anonymous, ugotposted.com required the poster include the subject’s full name, location, age and Facebook profile link.
"This was a six month investigation that put a stop to someone who is suspected of hurting people and making money doing it," said Alan Barcelona, president of the California Statewide Law Enforcement Association which represents California Department of Justice special agents. "DOJ agents in the Attorney General's eCrime unit are to be commended for their work in this case."
California Penal Code sections 530.5 and 653m (b) make it illegal to willfully obtain someone’s personal identifying information, including name, age and address, for any unlawful purpose, including with the intent to annoy or harass.
Court documents also allege that Bollaert created a second website, changemyreputation.com, in October 2012, which he used when individuals contacted ugotposted.com requesting that content be removed from the site. Bollaert would allegedly extort victims by replying with a changemyreputation.com email address and offering to remove the content for a fee ranging from $299.99 to $350, which could be paid using an online PayPal account referenced in the emails.
Ballaert allegedly told investigators, according to court documents, that he made around $900 per month from advertising on the site. Records obtained from his changemyreputation.com PayPal account indicate he received payments totaling tens of thousands of dollars.
