Cybercrime & Technology

SAN FRANCISCO -- Attorney General Kamala D. Harris announced today that cyber-exploitation website operator, Casey E. Meyering, has pled no contest to one count of extortion, three counts of attempted extortion, and one count of conspiracy. He is expected to be sentenced on June 8, 2015. Meyering operated WinByState.com, a cyber-exploitation website on which intimate images of unsuspecting victims were posted without the victims’ consent.

Meyering, 28, of Tulsa, Oklahoma, entered his no contest plea today in Napa County Superior Court. Meyering’s no-contest plea is considered by the court the same as a plea of guilty and, following his plea today, the court found him guilty.

“Today’s plea makes it clear that there will be severe consequences for those who profit from exploiting women online,” said Attorney General Harris. “This is a turning point in the fight against cyber exploitation and a message to those who cowardly profit from victimizing, belittling, and harassing women. My office will continue to be vigilant, and we will investigate and prosecute those who commit these deplorable acts.”

Meyering was arrested in Tulsa on February 13, 2014, and extradited to California following an investigation led by the California Department of Justice’s eCrime Unit. The investigation revealed that the website Meyering owned and administered, WinByState.com, solicited the anonymous, public posting of private photographs containing nude and explicit images of individuals without their permission.  

Described as “a user supported website where you can trade your ex-girlfriend, your current girlfriend, or any other girl that you might know,” WinByState.com solicited uploaders to identify their “wins” by city and state, sometimes using the victim’s complete or partial name. In the California-specific user forum for this website, there were over 400 postings.

WinbyState.com also required victims to pay $250 via a Google Wallet account to remove posted photographs. The account was named TakeDownHammer, and it was registered to Meyering at a fictitious Beverley Hills storefront. Law enforcement agents purchased a “takedown” for one of the victims in Napa, and traced the funds to Meyering’s bank account in Tulsa. Surveillance footage from the bank identified him withdrawing money from the account.

The investigation started in February 2013 from a complaint by a Northern California victim to a Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety detective. The victim suspected that a college classmate had hacked the victim’s computer and retrieved nude images. Through search warrants, law enforcement discovered that the victim’s classmate had indeed hacked and stolen nude images of her. The Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office convicted the classmate for identity-theft related crimes, and he received an eight-month jail sentence.

In September 2013, the victim sought law enforcement’s help again because her images appeared on Meyering’s website, WinByState.com. After law enforcement efforts to have Meyering take down the images failed, it paid Meyering’s $250 fee to his Google Wallet account. Following search warrants, law enforcement traced the website and Google Wallet account to Meyering and were able to identify additional California victims.

Meyering’s guilty plea follows the conviction of Kevin Bollaert, the operator of a similar cyber exploitation website. A jury found Bollaert guilty of 6 counts of extortion and 21 counts of identity theft, and a superior court judge in San Diego County sentenced him to 18 years of incarceration. The Bollaert case was the first criminal prosecution of a cyber exploitation website operator in the country.

Attorney General Harris has sponsored a package of bills in the California legislature that will increase protections for victims and provide tools for law enforcement to prosecute the growing number of cyber  exploitation cases in California.  The bills have been approved by the Senate Committee on Public Safety for SB 676, authored by Senator Anthony Cannella (R-Ceres), and in the Assembly Committee on Public Safety for AB 1310, authored by Assemblymember Mike Gatto (D-Glendale).

In addition, Attorney General Harris has convened a working group of 50 major technology companies, victim advocates, and legislative and law enforcement leaders to fight cyber exploitation through a public private partnership. Specifically, the Attorney General’s working group on cyber exploitation is working on four key areas: developing an industry statement of principles, education and prevention, law enforcement training and collaboration and legislation and advocacy. The working group includes major tech companies such as, Microsoft, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. AB 1310 was also approve by the Assembly Privacy and Consumer Protection Committee. 

Attorney General Harris created the eCrime Unit in 2011 to investigate and prosecute identity theft crimes, cybercrimes and other crimes involving the use of technology. 

Attorney General Harris also acknowledged the investigative efforts by the Department of Justice’s law enforcement partners, including the Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety and the Northern California Computer Crimes Task Force.

LOS ANGELES— Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today announced that Kevin Christopher Bollaert, the operator of a cyber-exploitation website which posted nude photos of individuals with personal identifying information without their consent, was sentenced to 18 years in prison. This case is the first criminal prosecution of a cyber-exploitation website operator in the country.

“Today’s sentence makes clear there will be severe consequences for those that profit from the exploitation of victims online,” said Attorney General Harris. “Sitting behind a computer, committing what is essentially a cowardly and criminal act will not shield predators from the law or jail. We will continue to be vigilant and investigate and prosecute those who commit these deplorable acts.” 

In February 2015, Kevin Christopher Bollaert, 27, of San Diego, was found guilty on 6 counts of extortion and 21 counts of identity theft.  

An investigation conducted by Attorney General Harris and the Department of Justice found that from December 2012 to approximately September 2013, Bollaert created the website ugotposted.com, which allowed the anonymous, public posting of private photographs containing nude and explicit images of individuals without their permission. Commonly known as revenge porn, the photos are typically obtained consensually by the poster during a prior relationship or are stolen or hacked. Unlike many other revenge porn websites where the subject of the photos is anonymous, ugotposted.com required that the poster include the subject’s full name, location, age and Facebook profile link. As a result, the victims experienced severe harassment through social media, at their places of work and in other communities.

Bollaert created a second website, changemyreputation.com, in October 2012, which he used when individuals contacted ugotposted.com requesting that content be removed from the site.  Bollaert would extort victims by replying with a changemyreputation.com email address and offering to remove the content for a fee ranging from $250 to $350, which could be paid using an online PayPal account referenced in the emails.  Bollaert told investigators that he made around $900 per month from advertising on the site and records obtained from his changemyreputation.com PayPal account indicate that he received payments totaling  approximately $30,000.

Bollaert’s arrest arose from a six-month investigation by the California Attorney General’s eCrime unit. Attorney General Harris created the eCrime Unit in 2011 to identify and prosecute identity theft crimes, cybercrimes and other crimes involving the use of technology. 

In February 2014, Attorney General Harris announced the arrest of Casey E. Meyering, 28, of Tulsa, Oklahoma, who operated the website WinByState.com. He was charged with 5 counts of felony extortion and is currently awaiting trial on June 8, 2015.

SACRAMENTO –Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today announced a package of bills that will increase protections for victims and provide tools for law enforcement to prosecute the growing number of cyber-exploitation cases in California.

Cyber-exploitation, commonly known as revenge porn, is defined as the non-consensual distribution and publication of intimate photos and videos. The poster sometimes obtains the photos or videos during a prior relationship, or steals them by hacking into the victim’s phone, computer, or social media accounts.

“Cyber-exploitation is a heinous crime that humiliates and degrades victims, while creating devastating effects on their personal and professional lives,” said Attorney General Harris. “This legislation will provide law enforcement with tools to prosecute these crimes, and provide critical support to victims suffering from the debilitating impacts.” 

Senate Bill 676 (Cannella, R-Ceres) would classify the intentional distribution of personal identifying information associated with the image of an intimate body part, obtained without the consent of the person depicted, as a new crime under Penal Code 647. Additionally, SB 676 would expand the forfeiture provision for possession of child pornography to include the forfeiture of cyber-exploitation images, allowing law enforcement to remove these images from unauthorized possession.

"Several years ago, it was brought to my attention that countless lives were being destroyed because another person they trusted distributed compromising photos of them online. As a result, I created legislation that makes this activity illegal," said Cannella. "I quickly realized, however, there was much more to be done. As technology evolves, unfortunately, so does the rate of these cyber-crimes – increasing the number of victims impacted. And while I wish these types of crimes didn’t exist, SB 676 and AB 1310 will provide even more protection to victims."

Assembly Bill 1310 (Gatto, D-Glendale) would amend Penal Code 1524 to allow search warrants to be issued for crimes related to cyber-exploitation. Amending this statute will give law enforcement the ability to search electronic databases and retrieve the victims’ images. AB 1310 will also allow for the prosecution of cyber-exploitation cases in the county where the victim resides or in the county where the images was posted. Since posters and website operators commonly reside outside of the victim’s jurisdiction, this change in the law will relieve some of the burden placed on the victim during the prosecution of the case.

 “AB 1310 will make it more difficult for criminals to escape prosecution by allowing district attorneys and law enforcement to investigate and prosecute those who exploit their victims across multiple jurisdictions,” said Gatto.

In 2011, Attorney General Harris created the eCrime Unit to identify and prosecute identity theft crimes, cybercrimes and other crimes involving the use of technology. In February, a jury in San Diego County found Kevin Bollaert, the operator of a cyber-exploitation website, guilty of 6 counts of extortion and 21 counts of identity theft. He is currently awaiting sentencing. This was the first criminal prosecution of a cyber-exploitation website operator in the nation. 

In February 2014, Attorney General Harris announced the arrest of Casey E. Meyering, 28, of Tulsa, Oklahoma, who operated the website WinByState.com. He is charged with 5 felony extortion counts and is currently awaiting trial in Napa County. Both cases arose from investigations by the California Attorney General’s eCrime unit.

LOS ANGELES – Attorney General Kamala D. Harris issued the following statement on the San Diego Superior Court verdict in People v. Bollaert.  Kevin Bollaert, the operator of a cyber-exploitation website posting nude photos of individuals without their consent, was found guilty on 6 counts of extortion and 21 counts of identity theft.  This is  the first criminal prosecution of a cyber-exploitation (otherwise known as “revenge porn”) website operator.

“Bollaert’s actions are illegal and they will not be tolerated in California. And if you run a website like this, you’re going to go to prison.  Just because you’re sitting behind a computer, committing what is essentially a cowardly and criminal act, you will not be shielded from the law or jail,” said Attorney General Harris. “Crime that focuses on the most vulnerable and voiceless are some of the most horrendous crimes. The result of this conduct was to make people feel shame and embarrassment in the context of their family, their community, and their workplace. “

In December 2013, Attorney General Harris announced the arrest of Kevin Christopher Bollaert, 27, of San Diego, who operated the cyber-exploitation website ugotposted.com. He was charged with 31 felony counts of conspiracy, identity theft and extortion.

An investigation conducted by Attorney General Harris and the Department of Justice found that from December 2012 to approximately September 2013, Bollaert created the website ugotposted.com, which allowed the anonymous, public posting of private photographs containing nude and explicit images of individuals without their permission. Commonly known as revenge porn, the photos are typically obtained consensually by the poster during a prior relationship or are stolen or hacked. Unlike many other revenge porn websites where the subject of the photos is anonymous, ugotposted.com required that the poster include the subject’s full name, location, age and Facebook profile link. As a result, the victims experienced severe harassment through social media, at their places of work and in other communities.

Bollaert created a second website, changemyreputation.com, in October 2012, which he used when individuals contacted ugotposted.com requesting that content be removed from the site.  Bollaert would extort victims by replying with a changemyreputation.com email address and offering to remove the content for a fee ranging from $250 to $350, which could be paid using an online PayPal account referenced in the emails.  Bollaert told investigators that he made around $900 per month from advertising on the site and records obtained from his changemyreputation.com PayPal account indicate that he received payments totaling  approximately $30,000.

California Penal Code sections 530.5 and 653m (b) make it illegal to willfully obtain someone’s personal identifying information, including name, age and address, for any unlawful purpose, including with the intent to annoy or harass. California Penal Code section 520 makes it illegal to commit the crime of extortion, which includes obtaining money through the threat to reveal a victim’s secret.

Bollaert’s arrest arose from a six-month investigation by the California Attorney General’s eCrime unit. Attorney General Harris created the eCrime Unit in 2011 to identify and prosecute identity theft crimes, cybercrimes and other crimes involving the use of technology.

In February 2014, Attorney General Harris announced the arrest of Casey E. Meyering, 28, of Tulsa, Oklahoma, who operated the website WinByState.com. he was charged with 5 felony extortion counts and is currently awaiting trial on February 23, 2015. 

LOS ANGELES – Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today announced that the California Department of Justice—along with the Attorneys General of the other 49 States and the District of Columbia, the Federal Trade Commission, and the Federal Communications Commission—reached settlements with T-Mobile USA, Inc. to resolve allegations that T-Mobile placed charges for third-party services on consumers’ mobile telephone bills that were not authorized by the consumer, a practice known as “mobile cramming.” The state of California received $834,782 in the settlement.

“T-Mobile deceived its customers by adding unauthorized charges to their bills each month, in order to boost the company’s profits. This settlement puts an end to these bad business practices, refunds consumers and brings transparency to T-Mobile bills,” Attorney General Harris said.  “I encourage Californians who were victims of T-Mobile’s cramming practices to file a claim immediately.”

Under the settlement, T-Mobile must provide each victim of cramming who files a claim under its Premium SMS Refund Program an opportunity for a full refund.  The settlement terms require that T-Mobile pay at least $90 million; of this sum, at least $67.5 million must be paid to consumers—a portion of which may be paid by forgiving debts consumers may owe T-Mobile.  T-Mobile will also pay $18 million to the Attorneys General and $4.5 million to the Federal Communications Commission.

Consumers who have been “crammed” often complain about charges, typically $9.99 per month, for “premium” text message subscription services (also known as “PSMS” subscriptions) such as horoscopes, trivia, and sports scores, that the consumers have never heard of or requested.  The Attorneys General and federal regulators allege that cramming occurred when T-Mobile placed charges from third-parties on consumers’ mobile telephone bills without the consumer’s knowledge or consent. 

T-Mobile is the second mobile telephone provider to enter into a nationwide settlement to resolve allegations regarding cramming; Attorney General Harris announced a $105 million settlement with AT&T in October of this year. T-Mobile and AT&T were among the four major mobile carriers—in addition to Verizon and Sprint—that announced they would cease billing customers for commercial PSMS in the fall of 2013.

Consumers can submit claims under the Program by visiting http://www.t-mobilerefund.com.  On the website, consumers can submit a claim, find information about refund eligibility and how to obtain a refund, and can request a free account summary that details PSMS purchases on their accounts.   Consumers who have questions about the Program can visit the claims website or call the Refund Administrator at (855) 382-6403.

The settlement requires T-Mobile to stay out of the commercial PSMS business—the platform to which law enforcement agencies attribute the lion’s share of the mobile cramming problem.  T-Mobile must also take a number of steps designed to ensure that it only bills consumers for third-party charges that have been authorized, including the following:

• T-Mobile must obtain consumers’ express consent before billing consumers for third-party charges, and must ensure that consumers are only charged for services if the consumer has been informed of all material terms and conditions of their payment;
• T-Mobile must give consumers an opportunity to obtain a full refund or credit when they are billed for unauthorized third-party charges;
• T-Mobile must inform its customers when they sign up for services that their mobile phone can be used to pay for third-party charges, and must inform consumers of how those third-party charges can be blocked if the consumer doesn’t want to use their phone as a payment method for third-party products; and
• T-Mobile must present third-party charges in a dedicated section of consumers’ mobile phone bills, must clearly distinguish them from T-Mobile charges, and must include in that same section information about the consumers’ ability to block third-party charges.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today issued recommendations to California businesses to help protect against and respond to the increasing threat of malware, data breaches and other cyber risks.

"My office issued this guide to support California’s businesses and ensure a robust economy,” Attorney General Harris said. “Technology has created new opportunities and new risks for California businesses, including cyber attacks. This guide offers specific, straightforward recommendations to help businesses continue to thrive by reducing cyber security risks to employees and customers.”

The guide, Cybersecurity in the Golden State, provides recommendations focused on small to mid-sized businesses, which are particularly vulnerable to cybercrime and often lack the resources to hire cybersecurity personnel. In 2012, 50% of all cyber attacks were aimed at businesses with fewer than 2,500 employees and 31% were aimed at those with less than 250 employees.

Click here to view Cybersecurity in the Golden State: https://oag.ca.gov/cybersecurity

The guide is a product of a collaborative effort between the California Attorney General’s office, the California Chamber of Commerce and Lookout, a mobile security company.

“Prevention is the best medicine. Not only does the guide provide useful information to reduce the threat of cybercrime, it highlights the need to be proactive in preventing data breaches. This is good for California businesses and consumers,” said Allan Zaremberg, President and CEO of the California Chamber of Commerce.

“Security should not be viewed as a technology problem; it needs to be viewed as a business problem. If companies take a more proactive approach to security, they mitigate issues related to cyber risk,” said Kevin Mahaffey, co-founder and CTO at Lookout. “We’re happy to collaborate with Attorney General Harris to identify the steps businesses can take to improve their security practices -- for companies of all sizes.”

Key Recommendations for small business owners:

• Assume you are a target and develop an incident response plan now.
• Review the data your business stores and shares with third parties including backup storage and cloud computing. Once you know what data you have and where it is, get rid of what is not necessary.
• Encrypt the data you need to keep. Strong encryption technology is now commonly available for free, and it is easy to use.
• Follow safe online practices such as regularly updating firewall and antivirus software on all devices, using strong passwords, avoiding downloading software from unknown sources and practicing safe online banking by only using a secure browser connection.

In 2003, California was the first state to pass a law (AB 700) mandating data breach notification, which requires businesses and state agencies to notify Californians when their personal information is compromised in security breach. In 2012, companies and state agencies subject to the law were required for the first time to report any breach that involved more than 500 Californians to the Attorney General’s Office (SB 24). That first year, The Attorney General’s office received reports of 131 data breaches, which placed the personal information of an estimated 2.5 million Californians at risk. More information is available here: http://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/attorney-general-kamala-d-harris-releases-report-data-breaches-25-million

Attorney General Harris created the eCrime Unit in 2011 to identify and prosecute cyber crimes such as hacking, theft of intellectual property, identity theft, on-line fraud and extortion and identity theft. Attorney General Harris also established the office’s Privacy Enforcement and Protection Unit in 2012 to enforce federal and state privacy laws regulating the collection, retention, disclosure, and destruction of private or sensitive information by individuals, organizations, and the government.

LOS ANGELES -- Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today announced the arrest of the alleged owner and operator of a revenge porn website who facilitated the posting of more than 400 sexually explicit photos of Californians and extorted victims for as much as $250 each to remove the illicit content.

Casey E. Meyering, 28, of Tulsa, Oklahoma was arrested yesterday in Tulsa by agents with the California Attorney General’s eCrime Unit, the Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety and the Tulsa Police Department. The Attorney General’s Office is seeking a Governor's warrant for Meyering’s extradition to California, and he remains in custody pending the extradition hearing. According to documents filed in Napa County Superior Court, Meyering has been charged with 5 felony extortion counts.

“This behavior is the very definition of predatory and this website made a game out of humiliating victims for profit,” Attorney General Harris said. “These actions at their core are about one individual exploiting the privacy and trust of others for financial gain. We will continue to investigate and prosecute those who participate in these deplorable and illegal activities.”

Court documents allege that in 2013, Meyering owned and administered the website WinByState.com, which solicits the anonymous, public posting of private photographs containing nude and explicit images of individuals without their permission. Commonly known as revenge porn, the photos maybe obtained consensually by the poster during a prior relationship, or are stolen or hacked.

The investigation into WinByState.com began when a Northern California hacking victim discovered nude photos of herself on this site that had been stolen from her computer, according to court documents. Described as “a user supported website where you can trade your ex-girlfriend, your current girlfriend, or any other girl that you might know,” WinByState.com solicited uploaders to identify their “wins” according to city and state, sometimes using the victim’s complete or partial name. There were over 400 postings in the California forum, and at least one victim was under 18 at the time the photographs were taken, according to court documents.

Court documents also allege that WinbyState.com required victims to pay $250 via a Google Wallet account to remove posted photographs. The account was named TakeDownHammer, and was registered to Meyering at a non-existent Beverley Hills storefront. Law enforcement agents purchased a “takedown” for one the victims in Napa, and traced the funds to Meyering’s bank account in Tulsa, where surveillance footage from the bank identified him withdrawing money from the account.

The California Attorney General’s Office is currently working with GoDaddy.com to suspend the website pending the investigation and identification of additional victims.

In December of last year, Attorney General Harris announced the arrest of Kevin Christopher Bollaert, 27, of San Diego, who operated the revenge porn website ugotposted.com. He was charged with 31 felony counts of conspiracy, identity theft and extortion and is currently awaiting trial.

Attorney General Harris created the eCrime Unit in 2011 to identify and prosecute identity theft crimes, cybercrimes and other crimes involving the use of technology.

Individuals who feel they are victims of WinByState.com or other revenge porn websites should file a complaint with the California Attorney General’s office here: https://oag.ca.gov/contact/consumer-complaint-against-business-or-company.

Please note that a complaint contains only allegations against a person and, as with all defendants, Casey E. Meyering, must be presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today announced the arrest of the alleged owner and operator of a revenge porn website who facilitated the posting of more than 10,000 sexually explicit photos and extorted victims for as much as $350 each to remove the illicit content.

“This website published intimate photos of unsuspecting victims and turned their public humiliation and betrayal into a commodity with the potential to devastate lives,” Attorney General Harris said. “Online predators that profit from the extortion of private photos will be investigated and prosecuted for this reprehensible and illegal internet activity.”

Kevin Christopher Bollaert, 27, of San Diego, was arrested today in San Diego by California Department of Justice agents and is being held in San Diego County jail on $50,000 bail. According to documents filed in San Diego County Superior Court, Bollaert has been charged with 31 felony counts of conspiracy, identity theft and extortion and is facing possible jail time and fines.

Court documents allege that, in December 2012, Bollaert created the website ugotposted.com, which allows the anonymous, public posting of private photographs containing nude and explicit images of individuals without their permission. Commonly knows as revenge porn, the photos are typically obtained consensually by the poster during a prior relationship or are stolen or hacked. Unlike many other revenge porn websites where the subject of the photos is anonymous, ugotposted.com required that the poster include the subject’s full name, location, age and facebook profile link.

California Penal Code sections 530.5 and 653m (b) make it illegal to willfully obtain someone’s personal identifying information, including name, age and address, for any unlawful purpose, including with the intent to annoy or harass.

Court documents also allege that Bollaert created a second website, changemyreputation.com, in October 2012, which he used when individuals contacted ugotposted.com requesting that content be removed from the site. Bollaert would allegedly extort victims by replying with a changemyreputation.com email address and offering to remove the content for a fee ranging from $299.99 to $350, which could be paid using an online PayPal account referenced in the emails. Ballaert allegedly told investigators, according to court documents, that he made around $900 per month from advertising on the site and records obtained from his changemyreputation.com PayPal account indicate that he received payments totaling tens of thousands of dollars.

According to court documents, ugotposted.com’s registration listed a billing address in San Diego, CA.

The arrest comes after a six-month investigation by the California Attorney General’s eCrime unit.

Attorney General Harris created the eCrime Unit in 2011 to identify and prosecute identity theft crimes, cybercrimes and other crimes involving the use of technology.

Individuals who feel they are victims of ugotposted.com or other revenge porn websites should file a complaint with the California Attorney General’s office here: https://oag.ca.gov/contact/consumer-complaint-against-business-or-company.

Please note that a complaint contains only allegations against a person and, as with all defendants, Kevin Christopher Bollaert, must be presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. 

A copy of the complaint and arrest warrant are attached to the electronic version of this release here: https://oag.ca.gov/news.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today joined San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee and San Francisco Police Chief Greg Suhr to launch the California Department of Justice’s JusticeMobile app.

JusticeMobile is a mobile app that gives law enforcement agents, for the first time, secure and immediate access to state and federal criminal justice information. Until now, officers have had to use a phone or radio to contact personnel to obtain this information.

JusticeMobile was tested over the past five months by more than 600 San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) officers. Now, JusticeMobile is being rolled out to all SFPD officers, giving them access to internal SFPD, California DOJ and federal law enforcement databases. Justice Mobile will soon be available to law enforcement agencies across the state. The Los Angeles Police Department plans to equip 3,600 officers with the technology.

“We have mobile apps for everything from banking to board games on our phones. But, incredibly, law enforcement hasn’t had the tools to access important criminal justice information on handhelds and tablets until now,” said Attorney General Harris. “JusticeMobile is a quantum leap forward for public and peace officer safety, and it demonstrates our commitment to facilitating the adoption of new technology by law enforcement. I thank Mayor Lee and Chief Suhr for their partnership on this important project.”

In San Francisco, the Attorney General’s office partnered with SFPD’s Technology Division, the Mayor’s Office and technology companies through the San Francisco Citizens Initiative for Technology and Innovation (sf.citi).

“San Francisco’s men and women in uniform need 21st Century tools to keep our city safe,” said Mayor Lee. “This is a game changer. Under the leadership of Attorney General Harris, SFPD and sf.citi, the JusticeMobile smartphones give officers on the streets instant access to law enforcement data where information in real time counts. The City’s violent crime rates are now at historic lows and implementing innovative crime prevention strategies like this will help keep San Francisco as one of the safest big cities in America.”

“Talk about loving when a plan comes together, and I want to acknowledge the vision of Mayor Lee, Attorney General Kamala D. Harris, the Police Commission, and sf.citi in moving this initiative forward,” said SFPD Chief Greg Suhr. “That vision, coupled with the tenacity of SFPD CIO Susan Giffin and her award winning team, San Francisco will be a safer place because it’s a smarter place. This is the force multiplier SFPD has been working toward. In this case, some of San Francisco’s finest citizens came together to give ‘San Francisco’s Finest’ a 21st century tool that will go a long way towards making the City the safest big city in the country.”

JusticeMobile employs many rigorous security standards, including: strong password requirements, a Virtual Private Network requiring two-factor authorization, encryption, limits on downloads and backup/syncing, and prohibiting copying or screen captures.

JusticeMobile is also being used on a pilot basis to keep illegal firearms out of the hands of dangerous criminals. DOJ agents are using JusticeMobile on their iPads to check potential gun buyers at weekend firearms shows in California, by checking names against the Bureau of Firearms Armed Prohibited Persons (APPS) database. Previously, agents were able to run only 20 individuals against the APPS list at a weekend gun show. Now, using JusticeMobile on iPads, agents are running 80 individuals, an increase of 300 percent.

Images showing how the app works are attached to the electronic version of this release at: https://oag.ca.gov/news

SAN FRANCISCO -- Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today announced criminal charges and the arraignment of three brothers who face up to five years in prison for operating an illegal website that allowed users to watch bootleg versions of copyrighted television shows and movies.

Hop Hoang, 26, Tony Hoang, 23, and Huynh Hoang, 20, all brothers, were arraigned in Alameda County Superior Court on Thursday, June 13 for allegedly operating the website mediamp4.com which allowed users to illegally stream more than 1,000 copyrighted television and movie titles on computers and mobile devices. The three have each been charged with one count of conspiracy, four counts of receiving stolen property and one count of grand theft.

“Digital piracy is theft. It is a serious crime that harms one of California’s most important economic engines – our entertainment industry,” said Attorney General Harris. “This case sends a clear message that the California Department of Justice will investigate digital piracy and prosecute violators to the fullest extent of the law.” 

The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) initially began an investigation into iphonetvshows.net and movieiphone.net and sent a cease and desist letter to Tony Hoang. Thereafter, Tony Hoang and his co-defendant brothers allegedly resumed the illegal operation under a new domain name, mediamp4.com.  The Attorney General’s office then initiated an investigation into mediamp4.com, executed a search warrant, seized property used in connection with the illegal operation and filed charges against the Hoang brothers.

“The MPAA deeply appreciates the leadership of Attorney General Harris and her office in helping to combat websites that illegally profit from the creative content produced by the men and women of the American movie and television community,” said former Senator Chris Dodd, the MPAA’s CEO and Chairman.  “There are now nearly 80 legal online services in the United States dedicated to providing movies and television shows to viewers.  But to realize the enormous potential of these businesses and ensure an Internet that works for everyone, it is critical that government, content creators, the tech community and others work together to stop illegal rogue sites.”

Over the 18 months of the website’s operation, the brothers earned approximately $150,000 in advertising revenue. Hop Hoang allegedly confirmed that the brothers generated traffic to the website through Google search ads.

Subscribers could illegally access television shows like “How I Met Your Mother,” along with films such as “Black Swan,” “Tangled” and “Harry Potter and the Deadly Hallows Part 1.”

The investigation was conducted by the eCrime Unit of the California Attorney General’s Office, California Highway Patrol, and REACT, a law enforcement task force located in Santa Clara, CA specializing in investigating technology crimes and identity theft. The Attorney General’s eCrime Unit conducted the forensic analysis of the computer seized during a search and is prosecuting the case.

In 2011, Attorney General Harris created the eCrime Unit to identify and prosecute identity theft crimes, cybercrimes and other crimes involving the use of technology.

The charges in the complaints are only allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless they are proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.