Arrest in 'Sextortion' Case: 3,000 Nude Photos Stolen by Karen Kazaryan
A Southern California man was arrested for federal computer hacking charges on Tuesday in a sextortion case that allegedly involves over 350 women.
Karen "Gary" Kazaryan, 27, of Glendale, was arrested and charged with 15 counts of computer intrusion and 15 counts of aggravated identity theft, according to reports. Kazaryan stands accused of hacking into women's social media accounts and changing their passwords before scanning their photos for nude shots- "sextortion" was the term coined by the FBI.
Kazaryan also went through the women's emails and contacts, gathering information about their friends. After his research, he would pose as one of the women and persuade the woman's friends to remove their clothing so that he could take pictures of them, the FBI press release revealed. Kazaryan then used the photos to exploit the women after they discovered that he was not actually a friend.
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"According to a search warrant executed in 2011 and unsealed today, Kazaryan repeatedly contacted victims to demand that they expose their breasts to him on Skype and used their e-mail and Facebook accounts to make contact with other victims," the release stated.
Victim's who failed to comply with Kazaryan's orders would later find nude photos of themselves posted on their Facebook pages.
Authorities have recovered an estimated 3,000 photos, according to multiple reports. It appears that more than 350 different women were involved in the scam, although police have failed to identify all of the women. As a result, the FBI has urged women who may have been involved to call at (310) 477-6565.
If convicted, Kazaryan could face up to 105 years in prison.
