Oswego man pleads guilty to hacking hundreds of women's Snapchats to steal and sell nude photos

An Oswego, Illinois man has pleaded guilty to phishing hundreds of women to get access to their Snapchats and steal, sell, trade and keep nude photos.

Kyle Svara, 27, pleaded guilty in a Boston federal court to aggravated identity theft, wire fraud, computer fraud, conspiracy to commit computer fraud and false statements related to child pornography.

Between May 2020 and February 2021, Svara collected email addresses, phone numbers and Snapchat usernames, then posted a Snap Inc. employee to request access codes from more than 4,500 women. He received codes from 570 women, whose accounts he accessed. He downloaded nude or semi-nude images from 59 accounts.

Svara then sold or traded the images on internet forums to men who had contracted him to hack the accounts, including former Northeastern University track and field coach Steve Waithe of Chicago. Waithe pleaded guilty to cyberstalking, computer fraud and wire fraud charges in connection to these crimes. Some of the victims were female student athletes Waithe had coached. Waithe was sentenced to five years in prison. 

Svara, who advertised his hacking services on sites like Reddit, also targeted women in the area of Plainfield, Illinois.

Svara faces the possibility of more than 20 years in prison collectively for the crimes he pleaded guilty to. His sentencing is set for a future date.