Film

24-year-old sentenced to 5 years in jail after trying to sell film scripts


A resident of The Bahamas who stole film and TV scripts after hacking email accounts from celebrities has been given a 5-year prison sentence.

The Department of Justice revealed that an undercover agent had maintained contact with 24-year-old Alonzo Knowles, who tried to sell scripts that he’d been able to access from at least 130 people. Pleading guilty earlier in May for hacking offences, Knowles had managed to obtain phone numbers and access email accounts of media, entertainment and sports personalities.

Knowles was also in the possession of a yet-to-be-released script for a biographical movie based on Tupac Shakur, titled “All Eyez on Me.”

Following the cyber hacking investigation, it was established that Knowles claimed he had “really profitable” content that he deemed to be worth “hundreds of thousands of dollars” according to the undercover agent who posed as a buyer.

During a face-to-face meeting, he also admitted the methods in which he hacked into victim’s computers and was able to log in and change notification settings to avoid detection. He was then arrested when he tried to sell the movie and TV scripts he had accessed.

Knowles was handed down the 5-year sentence by the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York following the completed investigation by the Department of Homeland Security. His laptop and other materials were also seized.

Iain Alexander

Founder - Film Industry Network

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