An Illinois man who worked with Northeastern’s former track and field coach Steve Waithe to hack the Snapchat accounts of nearly 600 women in an attempt to steal nude photos was charged with aggravated identity theft, computer fraud and giving false statements related to child pornography, according to Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Leah Foley.
Foley’s office announced Jan. 7 that 26-year-old Kyle Svara is facing five charges stemming from his partnership with Waithe, who was sentenced to five years in prison and three years of supervised release in March 2024 after being convicted on charges including wire and computer fraud.
Waithe, who was arrested in April 2021, worked as a track and field coach at Northeastern from October 2018 to February 2019. He was terminated after the university investigated several reports of sexual harassment against him, according to court documents.
Svara and Waithe, both from Illinois, also allegedly extorted women from other universities, including Colby College in Maine. Svara also targeted women in Plainfield, Ill, prosecutors said.
Waithe previously coached at Penn State University, Illinois Institute of Technology, the University of Tennessee and Concordia University Chicago, according to the Associated Press, though prosecutors did not say whether he also targeted women there.
Waithe allegedly hired and paid Svara to hack the Snapchat accounts of women he coached or had relationships with, Foley’s office said.
From May 2020 to February 2021, Svara allegedly collected victims’ emails, phone numbers and Snapchat usernames and used this information to log into their accounts. When victims were sent a security alert, Svarae posed as a Snapchat representative to request the codes, Foley’s office said.
Prosecutors allege Svara texted more than 4,500 women, and about 570 responded with the code. Svara reportedly accessed at least 59 Snapchat accounts to download nude or semi-nude photos.
Svara was allegedly hired by several individuals to procure explicit images, Foley’s office said, and advertised his “services” on sites like Reddit.
Svara is facing up to 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. He is scheduled to make his first appearance in federal court Feb. 4.
