A Texas man is accused of stealing nude photos and videos from more than a thousand victims, including minors, throughout the United States online, according to the FBI and a federal complaint.
Federal officials this week charged Andrew Venegas, 23, with sexual exploitation of children after he allegedly extorted women and girls into sending him more explicit content under the threat that he would share their nude images publicly, beginning in 2022.
The FBI believes Venegas hid behind a fake account called "Starkylol," using a woman's photo as his profile picture, to coerce and "extort women throughout the United States."
During their investigation, federal authorities got Venegas to send explicit images directly to them.
MICHIGAN FAMILY SOUNDS ALARM ON SON'S ‘SEXTORTION’ SUICIDE AFTER ARRESTS OF 3 NIGERIAN MEN
"He advertised his content to other individuals online, including specifically offering content depicting minors under the age of 18," the complaint filed against Venegas states.
Some of the victims Venegas allegedly stole nude images from were derived from accounts he did not have authorization to access. In other words, Venegas is accused of hacking some of the victims' accounts for access to their nude images.
SOUTH CAROLINA LAWMAKER EXPOSES DANGERS OF ‘SEXTORTION’ AFTER TEENAGE SON'S SUICIDE
He would then threaten the victims into sending more explicit images, which he shared on Telegram — an encrypted messaging app — and sold to buyers online. He advertised certain images as specifically depicting girls under the age of 18.
While investigating a website that posts sexually explicit images of women in various stages of undress, officials determined that "[n]umerous victims throughout the country have reported that their images or videos were posted on TARGET DOMAIN A without their permission."
"Some of the victims specifically reported that they believed the images/videos were taken from their Snapchat account without their permission," the complaint states.
CDC REPORTS 60% INCREASE IN HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS SERIOUSLY CONSIDERING PLANNING SUICIDE, SADNESS
One message from a number associated with Venegas to a victim read, "I'm in your Snapchat account right now and can post anything or send anything to your friends anytime I want, changing your Snapchat password won't do anything [sic]. Do you want me to share all of this on the dark web and with your friends? Want me to keep it a secret?"
Several victims found out their images or videos were posted online "after individuals contacted them and threatened to share the images/videos with friends or family if they did not provide additional explicit images and videos," the FBI said. This practice is known as "sextortion," which the FBI defines as "a serious crime that occurs when someone threatens to distribute your private and sensitive material if you don’t provide them images of a sexual nature, sexual favors, or money."
Law enforcement identified several victims who appear to be minors in the explicit images that were shared.
GROWING SNAPCHAT ‘SEXTORTION’ SCHEMES TARGET YOUNG BOYS, EXPERT WARNS
In messages to a minor victim, a number associated with Venegas wrote, "So if you don't want anything shared, just send these last 2 [explicit images] and I can leave you alone after."
The FBI also analyzed another website under a similar domain as the first website posting sexually explicit images of women. Officials ultimately determined that "over 1000 different females had their images posted on the [second] website, often accompanied by their true names."
FEARS OF AI HITTING BLACK MARKET STIR CONCERNS OF CRIMINALS EVADING GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS: EXPERT
The FBI identified a minor depicted in one explicit video on Venegas' Telegram account and determined that the victim "was being extorted by VENEGAS to commit the sexual acts shown in the video."
The "Starkylol" Telegram account also contained messages bragging about how "easy" it was for the suspect to obtain nude images from victims.
"She probably didn't expect to be posted on here," one post read.
"Easy to control," another post stated.
Investigators eventually reached out to the "Starkylol" account on Telegram to coordinate a sale with the suspect.
KIDNAPPING SURVIVOR REMEMBERS DRAGGING ‘COLD, HEAVY CHAIN’ FROM CAPTOR'S DUNGEON DURING RESCUE
"Law enforcement purchased, utilizing cryptocurrency (bitcoin), the package purporting to contain ‘all college, blackmail and under 18’ and, while in the Eastern District of Virginia, conducted a partial download before Starkylol canceled the download, claiming that the UC had taken too long to download the material," the complaint states. "Law enforcement was able to obtain some images from Starkylol that were provided in file folders of what were believed to be the names of the females depicted."
The FBI reached out to "Starkylol" using a total of three fake accounts to conduct purchases.
Investigators were also able to trace one victim's payment to Starkylol — in an effort to get her nude images removed from his website — to a cryptocurrency account under Venegas' name.
While executing a warrant at Venegas' residence, an FBI agent "sent two messages from an undercover Telegram Account to the account of Starkylol," both of which "were displayed on VENEGAS’s phone."
Venegas is scheduled to appear in court Friday at 10 a.m.
