David Hans Schmidt, aka "The Sultan of Smut," most recently was facing federal prison for attempting to solicit unpublished photos of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes' 2006 wedding for more than $1 million.
Schmidt pleaded guilty earlier this year for attempted extortion after having contacted Cruise's representatives and threatening to publish the photos unless given the designated amount of money. He was held under federal custody until he was released under house arrest July 26.
Lt. Anthony Lopez told the Associated Press that authorities found Schmidt's body Friday afternoon after noticing his monitoring device, which he was required to wear while under house arrest, had not moved and he had not checked in as scheduled.
Schmidt's attorney, Nancy Kardon, told the AP that she had been preparing for an Oct. 11 hearing in federal court, and that she was greatly saddened by the loss.
"I found him to be a very kind man," Kardon said.
Schmidt appeared to be proud of his various celebrity sex finds — including professional socialite Paris Hilton's stolen diaries, a sex tape featuring rocker Fred Durst and explicit photos of actor Jamie Foxx.
"Everyone knows who I am and what I do," Schmidt told XBIZ in a 2006 interview. "I’m the Grand Central Station for celebrity sex tapes.”
Celebrity sex tape marketer Kevin Blatt told XBIZ that though it's a sad story, he doesn't think anyone is really going to miss Schmidt.
"I know that posthumously it's not really nice to say anything bad about a person, but he really was not a good guy," Blatt said. "There's a big difference between a guy like him and a person like myself. He teetered around extortion."
Blatt also said that when both he and Schmidt were shopped the Colin Farrell sex tape, Schmidt told him to back off and even threatened to kill him.
"The guy was a lunatic," Blatt said. "Celebrities are all rejoicing; the guy was a very troubled person."
