SAN FRANCISCO — Casey Meyering, the operator of WinByState.com who posted sexually explicit images of unsuspecting victims without consent, was sentenced to three years in prison today.
WinByState.com, now seized by California state Department of Justice officials, was described as “a user supported website where you can trade your ex-girlfriend, your current girlfriend, or any other girl that you might know.”
To get access, users were required to submit photos, but must agree that they have “the person(s) permission who is in the picture/video.”
WinByState.com solicited users to identify their “wins” by city and state, often using the depicted person’s complete or partial name.
WinByState.com also required victims to pay $250 via a Google Wallet account to remove their posted photographs, known as “takedowns.”
The account was named TakeDownHammer and it was registered to Meyering at a fictitious Beverly Hills storefront, according to state Attorney General Kamala Harris.
Harris said that law enforcement agents purchased a “takedown” for one of the victims in Napa, Calif., and traced the funds to Meyering’s bank account in Tulsa, Okla. Surveillance footage from the bank identified him withdrawing money from the account.
“Meyering humiliated and belittled victims by operating a website that posted their intimate images and personal information, then extorted them for removal,” Harris said in a statement today.
In May, Meyering pled no contest to one count of extortion, three counts of attempted extortion and one count of conspiracy.
The investigation began in February 2013, stemming from a complaint by a Northern California victim to a Rohnert Park police agent. The victim suspected that a college classmate had hacked the victim’s computer and retrieved nude images.
Through search warrants, law enforcement discovered that the victim’s classmate had indeed hacked and stolen nude images of her.
Harris said the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office convicted the classmate for identity-theft related crimes and he received an eight-month jail sentence.
Meyering’s sentence follows the sentencing of Kevin Bollaert, the operator of a similar website. Bollaert in April was sentenced to 18 years of incarceration following a verdict which found him guilty of 6 counts of extortion and 21 counts of identity theft.
The Bollaert case was the first criminal prosecution of a "revenge porn" website operator in the country.
Pictured: Casey Meyering