Beaver Falls man indicted in federal identity theft, child porn charges
BEAVER FALLS ― A city man was indicted by a federal grand jury in Erie Tuesday for his involvement in a criminal ring accused of wire fraud conspiracy and possession of child sex abuse materials.
According to the Department of Justice, charges were filed against six residents of Pennsylvania and one resident of North Carolina after the seven defendants allegedly conspired to hack into Snapchat accounts to obtain explicit images and videos of victims. Among those charged in the federal investigation was 26-year-old Karlin Terrell Jones, of Beaver Falls, who authorities said worked with the group to share these images with others online.
“As alleged, the defendants used deception and hacking techniques to unlawfully access social media accounts so that they could steal, hoard, and trade explicit and otherwise private content of hundreds of unsuspecting victims,” said U.S. Attorney Eric Olshan. “This office and our law enforcement partners will reach far and wide to identify and prosecute those who victimize our communities via the internet, especially when they seek to victimize our most vulnerable population – our children.”
At this time, investigators have not disclosed what led them to identify the seven co-defendants in this case or what techniques were used to hack the social media accounts. It also remains unknown how many victims were impacted by these actions of identity theft, with local investigators stating that a larger network of victims may have been impacted without their knowledge.
“The seven people charged today exploited their victims and engaged in a predatory behavior that will not be tolerated,” said FBI Pittsburgh Special Agent in Charge Mike Nordwall. “Hacking into social media accounts, stealing intimate pictures of unsuspecting victims and then selling and trading them in online forums is nothing short of reprehensible. These victims were re-victimized multiple times as their personal pictures were recirculated. We believe there is an extensive network of victims who still haven’t been identified.”
The defendants in the case face a variety of charges related to aggravated identity theft, wire fraud conspiracy, computer fraud and possession of child sex abuse materials. In the charges, federal prosecutors said Jones can face up to 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Beaver Falls man facing federal charges for hacking social media accounts
