He faces up to five years in prison and $250,000 in fines, plus potential restitution owed to the victims. 'Investigators have not uncovered any evidence linking Collins to the actual leaks or that Collins shared or uploaded the information he obtained,' the Justice Department said in its statement.Ĭollins, of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, accessed the women's accounts through one of two methods: He sent emails that looked like they came from an Apple or Google representative, or he guessed their passwords. Collins is not charged with leaking the photos after taking them. The original release contained photos and videos of more than 100 individuals that were allegedly obtained from file storage on hacked iCloud accounts, 26 including some the leakers claimed were A-list celebrities. The photos were spread widely on Web forums like Reddit and 4chan. Kate Upton and Justin Verlander (pictured in 2019) confirmed the authenticity of leaked photos.
Jennifer Lawrence, Kirsten Dunst, Kaley Cuoco and Kate Upton, among others, confirmed the photos were authentic. ' was charged today with felony computer hacking related to a phishing scheme that gave him illegal access to more than 100 Apple iCloud and Gmail accounts, including those belonging to members of the entertainment industry in Los Angeles,' according to a statement from the Justice Department.
