JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville man who hacked into the emails of Hollywood celebrities could face up to six years in prison for his crimes and pay more thousands of dollars to his victims.
The victims who were hacked include Scarlett Johanson and Christina Aguilera, just to name a few.
His nickname has become The Hollywood Hacker. 35-year-old Christopher Chaney admitted to being sorry for hacking into the online accounts of stars like Christina Aguilera and Scarlett Johanson.
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But despite the fact that Chaney has shown remorse for his online crimes, the Jacksonville man may have to pay $150,000 in fines and spend 71 months behind bars.
In court Chaney was asked, "What do you want to tell your family. Do you really think that's right?" After this question, Chaney apologized.
"It's not that we're retreating from this. but we can't wholly embrace it either, because the case is becoming more convoluted and more convoluted," Chaney's lawyer Mark Chestnutt said.
Chaney's lawyers said it was an adrenaline rush that fueled his online criminal behavior. He even sent nude photos of the stars to celebrity websites and other hackers.
Prosecutors want Chaney to compensate his victims.
They said Scarlett Johanson is owed more than $66,000, Christina Aguilera $7,500, Renee Olstead $76,000 and an undisclosed amount to Mila Kunis.
In addition to the hollywood starlets, a search warrant of Chaney's hard drive revealed that it was used to conduct Internet searches for an underage Connecticut woman. She complained to police that Chaney had been chatting with her online since she was 13. She alleged the hacker stole private transmissions as well, but his lawyer claims the opposite.
"He says man, I''ve never heard of her," Chestnutt said. "Listen, this guy's never been on a plane! Never been to Connecticut. Never met this young lady. Hedoesn't know her, doesn't recall talking with her on the Internet."
Chaney is scheduled to be sentenced Monday morning in Los Angeles federal court on his guilty plea to nine felony counts of hacking into the email accounts of several actresses. Prosecutors have recommended 6 years in prison.