Celebrity Hacker Stung By Undercover Cop In New York

Hacks into celebrities’ private emails, identity theft, attempts to sell victims’ information to the highest bidder; these could easily be plotpoints in a Hollywood thriller but in this circumstance they’re the entirely factual crimes a Bahamas-based celebrity hacker has just been stung for.

Celebrity Hacker Stung By Undercover Cop In New York

Alonzo Knowles, 23, of Freeport, Bahamas, was arrested in Manhattan Monday after trying to sell scripts to an undercover agent, according to U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, New York Daily reports.

Knowles had also attempted to sell personal information, and sexually explicit pictures and videos that he stole from celebrities’ personal email accounts.

Knowles contacted a radio host trying to sell him future scripts from a major television show last month. The host tipped off the feds and that’s when they began investigating Knowles, also known as Jeff Moxey.

An undercover agent organized a FaceTime chat with Knowles in which Knowles claimed to have “exclusive content” that was “really profitable” and worth “hundreds of thousands of dollars.”

On Monday an undercover cop met with Knowles in what Knowles assumed was a legit transaction. Knowles offered to hand over approximately 15 movie and television scripts and Social Security Numbers of three professional athletes and a movie actress in exchange for $80,000.

Knowles was charged with one count of felony criminal copyright infringement and one count of identity theft, and is expected to appear in Federal court Tuesday.