A 26-year-old Illinois man has admitted to running a large-scale cybercrime operation in which he manipulated hundreds of women into giving up access to their Snapchat accounts, allowing him to steal and distribute intimate images online.
Kyle Svara entered a guilty plea on Wednesday in federal court in Boston, admitting to charges that include computer fraud and aggravated identity theft.
According to Reuters, the case stemmed from a wider investigation involving a former Northeastern University athletics coach who paid Svara to illegally access the social media accounts of female athletes and other women.
Under the terms of a plea deal with prosecutors, Svara is expected to receive a recommended prison sentence of three years when he is formally sentenced on May 18.
In a statement, his attorney, Todd Pugh, said Svara had accepted responsibility for his actions. “He has taken full responsibility for his actions to his family and close friends, and today’s plea was a significant relief as it allowed him to finally accept responsibility publicly,” Pugh said.
Prosecutors said that between May 2020 and February 2021, Svara used deception and social engineering tactics to obtain login credentials from Snapchat users. Posing as a member of Snapchat’s support team, he sent messages asking victims to provide security verification codes, which many did.
Court records show that Svara collected security codes from 571 women, enabling him to illegally access at least 59 Snapchat accounts. Once inside, he downloaded nude or semi-nude images belonging to the victims and then stored, sold, or traded the material online.
Investigators also said Svara promoted his hacking services on Reddit and other online forums, openly advertising his ability to break into Snapchat accounts and provide private images “for you or trade.”
