A Great Neck man has been accused of trying to extort nude photos of 14 women by threatening to send to the victims’ families compromising images he allegedly hacked from their email.
FBI agents arrested Adam Savader on Tuesday at his family’s Hutchinson Court home and charged him with Internet extortion and cyber stalking. He remains in custody pending his arraignment in federal court.
“Remember what’s at stake,” the 21-year-old, who described himself on Facebook as a staffer for Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaigns, allegedly told one of the victims in a text message, according to court documents. “Do you want your family and everyone in DC to see your tits? Just agree to send me a pic of you in a bra.”
Authorities said Savader texted the victims—three of whom are from Long Island—from five different Google Voice Numbers using the name “John Smith,” in some cases sending the victims links to hacked nude photos he allegedly posted online.
One of the victims told investigators she knew Savader from their time at Great Neck North High School. Three knew him from his studies at George Washington University. Most of the victims have yet to be identified.
The investigation began after the first victim, a student at a university in Michigan, reported the alleged extortion to local police, who alerted the FBI, the records show.
Some of the victims reported that before the texts started they were prompted by their email accounts to change their passwords, indicating that they had been hacked.
Federal investigators eventually traced the source of the texts back to Savader’s home, many of the incidents occurring September through November. In one case he threatened to send the victims’ nude photos to the Republican National Committee.
No attorney information was listed for Savader. He faces up to five years in federal prison.
