A former U.S. State Department employee who cyberstalked women on the Internet in a massive “sextortion” scheme was sentenced to four years and nine months in federal prison, U.S. Attorney John Horn said Tuesday.
Michael C. Ford, who used to work at the U.S. Embassy in London, pleaded guilty last December to computer hacking and extortion. He admitted to hacking hundreds of victims' email and social media accounts to steal thousands of sexually explicit photographs. He also threatened at least 75 victims that he would release their photos unless they sent him more sexually explicit material, including videos of other women undressing in changing rooms at pools, gyms and clothing stores, according to federal officials.
“This case unfortunately shows that cyber-stalkers have the ability to torment victims from any corner of the globe,” Horn said Tuesday.
Federal agents arrested Ford, 36, who used various aliases online, at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport when he was visiting his parents in Alpharetta in May 2015.
Ford successfully hacked into at least 450 online accounts belonging to at least 200 victims from his computer at the U.S. Embassy. He often targeted members of university sororities or aspiring models with “phishing” emails that allowed him to steal photos from their email and social media accounts, Horn said.
The phishing emails were masked as coming from an official Google account that threatened to shut down the victims’ accounts unless the women verified their information and provided a password, according to a federal warrant.
“He preyed on vulnerable victims, leaving them with indelible emotional scars,” Horn said.
When victims refused to comply or threatened to go to the police, Ford, at least on several occasions, sent his victims’ photographs to family members and friends. Regarding one recalcitrant victim, he threatened to post her revealing photos to an “escort/hooker” with her home phone number and later described her home to her, stating, “I like your red fire escape ladder, easy to climb,” according to prosecutors.
At sentencing, the government presented evidence that Ford posed as a modeling scout in 2009 and convinced hundreds of young women, including several minors, to send their personal information as well as topless photos. He also attempted to entice a minor to take videos of her peers in her school locker room, Horn said.
After serving his time, Ford will be on supervised release for three years.
“Members of the public must be extremely careful about disclosing their logins and passwords to anyone, even when the person on the other end of an email or instant message appears to be legitimate,” Horn said.
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