Two of the seven defendants indicted by a federal grand jury for coordinating a plot to obtain and sell sexually explicit images from social media pleaded guilty this week. They appeared to be the ringleaders in this conspiracy, which authorities claimed involved minor victims.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Western District of Pennsylvania filed a 16-count indictment against Richard Martz Jr. of Meadville, Dylan Miller of West Mifflin, Christopher Clampitt of North Carolina, Edward Grabb of Jeanette, Michael Yackovich of West Newton, and Luke Swineh
Martz and Miller simply recognized their misdeeds and pleaded guilty in the case.
PNC Bank verified to KDKA that Miller was a former employee, and the Westmoreland County Sheriff’s Office stated Grabb was a part-time officer in a limited role for a brief period of time.
Prosecutors allege that between March 2020 and October 2022, the co-defendants plotted to hack into hundreds of Snapchat accounts in order to obtain sexually explicit photographs and videos of account users, some of whom were minors.
They hacked the accounts in a variety of ways, and once they had access to the material, prosecutors said the defendants downloaded and stored it to their own devices and remote storage accounts before sharing and exploiting the materials with one another and others online.
All the time, the account holders mentioned in the content were unaware of what was happening.
The FBI stated that they were not only sharing these photographs and videos, but also selling and exchanging them for profit, so re-victimizing the victims multiple times.
A PNC spokesman issued the following comment to KDKA.
“We are aware of a legal process involving a former employee, but owing to the current nature of the situation, we are unable to provide any additional information at this time. The security of our clients’ information is our first priority, and we have advanced safeguards in place to protect customer data.”
Both Martz and Miller will now have to register as sex offenders. They remain free on bond until their sentencing hearings on September 16.
Leave a Reply