SAN FRANCISCO — Kevin Bollaert, the alleged owner and operator of UGotPosted.com, was arrested today by California Department of Justice agents after a six-month investigation.
UGotPosted.com, known commonly as a revenge porn website, facilitated the posting of more than 10,000 sexually explicit photos and extorted victims for as much as $350 each to remove the illicit content, state Attorney General Kamala D. Harris said.
Bollaert has been charged with 31 felony counts of conspiracy, identity theft and extortion and is facing possible jail time and fines.
Unlike many other revenge porn websites where the subject of the photos is anonymous, UGotPosted.com required that the poster include the subject’s full name, location, age and facebook profile link.
Court documents allege that Bollaert created a second website, ChangeMyReputation.com, in October 2012, which he used when individuals contacted UGotPosted.com requesting that content be removed from the site.
Bollaert would allegedly extort victims by replying with a ChangeMyReputation.com email address and offering to remove the content for a fee ranging from $299.99 to $350, which could be paid using a PayPal account referenced in the emails.
Bollaert allegedly told investigators, according to court documents, that he made around $900 per month from advertising on the site and records obtained from his ChangeMyReputation.com PayPal account indicate that he received payments totaling tens of thousands of dollars.
“This website published intimate photos of unsuspecting victims and turned their public humiliation and betrayal into a commodity with the potential to devastate lives,” Harris said. “Online predators that profit from the extortion of private photos will be investigated and prosecuted for this reprehensible and illegal Internet activity.”
The website operator has at least three federal civil suits pending associated with UGotPosted.com operations over allegedly posting unauthorized pics.
Bollaert is being held in San Diego County jail on $50,000 bail.