Authorities said that they have charged Alonzo Knowles with hacking the emails of several Hollywood celebrities.
Variety reported that the 23-year-old Bahamian man was arrested on Monday and charged with criminal copyright infringement and identity theft for allegedly stealing sex videos and unreleased scripts.
The Telegraph noted that earlier this month a radio host said he received an unsolicited offer from someone looking to sell an upcoming script for a popular television drama. That host contacted the producer of the show who then called the Department of Homeland Security.
“This case has all of the elements of the kind of blockbuster script the defendant, Alonzo Knowles, is alleged to have stolen: hacks into celebrities’ private emails, identity theft and attempts to sell victims’ information to the highest bidder,” said Preet Bharara, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. “Unfortunately, these circumstances are all too real. I want to thank HSI for their quick work to stop Knowles’s alleged intrusions and his efforts to profit from the information he stole.”
Knowles allegedly tried to sell multiple scripts to an uncover agent for $80,000.