A Connecticut man who hacked into more than 200 iCloud accounts of Hollywood stars and others has been sentenced to eight months in prison.
George Garofano, 26, was sentenced Wednesday at the Bridgeport U.S. District Court. After prison, he must serve three years of supervised release and perform 60 hours of community service, the Connecticut Post reported.
The North Branford man was one of four men arrested in the 2014 hacking scandal that led to private photos of Jennifer Lawrence, Kirsten Dunst, Kate Upton and others being made public.
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Justice: A hacker who preyed on Jennifer Lawrence among others was sentenced to prison on Wednesday in Connecticut. The actress, 28, was snapped in NYC in May
Authorities said the hackers used a phishing scheme that sent emails appearing to be from Apple security accounts that asked for usernames and passwords.
Garofano pleaded guilty in April and asked for leniency, saying he faces a lifetime loss of rights because of the felony conviction.
In the sentencing hearing, according to the paper, U.S. District Judge Victor Bolden told Garofano that ‘240 victims were affected’ by the hacking, ranging from celebrities to Garofano’s college classmate to random internet users.
He chided Garofano over spreding an assortment of ‘very intimate photos and videos’ that ‘are not going away anytime soon.’
Bolden told the convicted hacker, ‘You misrepresented your identification to get user names and passwords. Some were complete strangers, others you knew too well.’
The incident initially took place in September of 2014, and by March of 2015, FBI authorities seized Garofano’s computer; he pleaded to one count of unauthorized access to a protected computer to gain information, according to the paper.
Garofano told the court he took ‘full responsibility’ for the ‘huge mistake’ and regrets it every day.
Out and about: Upton, who was hacked in the 2014 incident, was snapped last month in LA
It was probed by a Los Angeles grand jury that also charged Pennsylvania man Ryan Collins and Illinois natives Edward Majerczyk and Emilio Herrera; Collins received a sentence of 18 months, Herrera got 16 months and Majerczyk got nine months.
Garofano will enter custody October 10, the paper reported, noting that his attorney Richard Lynch has asked he serve his sentence at the Federal Correctional Institute Otisville in upstate New York.
Lawrence addressed the hack speaking with Vogue last year, saying it left her feeling ‘blindsided’ and ‘terrified.’
The Silver Linings Playbook star said: ‘Having your privacy violated constantly isn’t a problem if you’re perfect. But if you’re human, it’s terrifying. When my publicist calls me, I’m like, “Oh, my God, what is it?” Even when it’s nothing. I’m always waiting to get blindsided again.’
