Joe Sebok Targetted In Nude Photo Extortion Scam

A group of professional poker players were the target of an extortion plot in which a gang of Silicon Valley men tried to blackmail them by threatening to release private information stolen from their email accounts.
Appearing in court, Tyler Schrier, 23, Keith James Hudson, 39, and Ryder Finney, 22, pled guilty to a number of charges, including conspiracy, unauthorized access to a protected computer and extortion. For their parts in the “sextortion” plot, Tyler Schrier received 42 months in prison, Keith James Hudson two years, while Finney will be sentenced later this year and is expected to receive up to five years behind bars.
Apparently, Joe Sebok (photo) was one of the criminals’ victims, and the poker pro was hacked in the fall of 2010, when intimate messages and nude photos were stolen from his email account. Tyler Schrier then threatened to release all the information online unless Sebok paid up hundreds of thousands of dollars. When Seebok refused over 100 individuals received a nude photograph of Sebok, causing the poker pro much distress. As the San Francisco-based player explained in court:
“In short, I was no longer able to maintain my then-current level of participation in the poker industry, representing the brands that I had been previously, as well as greatly destroying my ability to do so with new companies moving forward. Without belaboring the point too much, it was a nightmare, and one that I was forced to live through with millions of people watching.”
Other crimes perpetuated by the men include extorting $26,000 from other poker players, and stealing a total of $4,000 from several online poker accounts.