Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle has sentenced Hao Kuo Chi (41, La Puente, California) to nine years in federal prison for conspiracy and computer fraud. Chi had pleaded guilty on October 15, 2021.
According to court documents, Chi operated for years on Anon-IB, a now defunct website. Anon-IB was 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 with persons he had met on Anon-IB.
Chi’s email accounts contained the iCloud credentials of approximately 4,700 victims. These accounts also revealed that he had sent content stolen from victims to conspirators on more than 300 occasions. Some of those conspirators subsequently released the images into the public sphere. Chi not only shared his “wins” with conspirators, but he also kept many of those images for his own personal collection. Specifically, Chi maintained approximately 3.5 terabytes of victim data on cloud and physical storage, containing content attributable to more than 500 victims.
“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.”
“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.
This case was investigated by Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Carlton C. Gammons.