CALIFORNIA MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO CYBERSTALKING AND IDENTITY THEFT IN CASE INVOLVING THOUSANDS OF WOMEN AND STOLEN PRIVATE IMAGES

BUFFALO, NEW YORK — A California man has pleaded guilty to federal cyberstalking and aggravated identity theft charges following an investigation that uncovered unauthorized access to hundreds of social media accounts, the theft of private images, and a campaign of online harassment and sexual extortion targeting young women across the United States, including three victims in Western New York.

Max Yang Chen, 31, of San Jose, California, entered his guilty plea before U.S. District Judge John L. Sinatra Jr. in Buffalo. U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced the plea on October 23, 2026, confirming that Chen faces a maximum combined penalty of seven years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine. His sentencing hearing will be scheduled at a later date.

According to the plea agreement, Chen compromised social media accounts belonging to hundreds of young women between March 2021 and June 18, 2023. After gaining unauthorized access, he searched their private accounts for sexually explicit photographs and videos, downloaded the material, and used it to harass, intimidate, and pressure victims into providing additional images.

Federal prosecutors described a pattern in which Chen contacted women directly to demonstrate that he possessed their private material. In some instances, he sent victims their own intimate photographs as proof of his access. In others, he publicly posted the images through their social media profiles, exposing personal content without their consent. He also sent sexually degrading and violent messages intended to frighten or humiliate those he targeted.

The conduct extended to sexual extortion. Chen pressured certain victims to provide additional explicit photographs by offering to remove previously exposed images from the internet only if they complied with his demands. This exploitation placed victims in a situation where their private information was being used against them, with the threat of further exposure serving as a means of coercion.

Investigators determined that Chen unlawfully accessed at least 200 social media accounts and directly contacted more than 200 young women whose intimate material he had obtained. More than 50 women received sexually explicit images of themselves from Chen as part of the documented conduct.

The investigation also established that Chen obtained and possessed hundreds of thousands of explicit photographs and videos depicting more than 6,000 young women. Prosecutors said the material came from compromised social media accounts and other sources. The reported number of women represented in his collection does not establish that every one of those individuals had a social media account directly compromised by Chen.

The Western District of New York case originated from allegations involving three victims within the district. In March 2024, federal prosecutors initially announced a nine-count indictment charging Chen with three counts of obtaining information from a protected computer, three counts of cyberstalking, and three counts of aggravated identity theft. That indictment accused him of accessing victims’ accounts without authorization, obtaining their information, and using the material to intimidate and harass them.

The October 2026 guilty plea establishes his criminal responsibility for cyberstalking and aggravated identity theft under the terms announced by federal prosecutors. The applicable maximum sentence reflects the offenses to which he has now pleaded guilty rather than the potential penalties associated with the original nine-count indictment.

Chen also faces a separate federal charge of attempted production of child sexual abuse material in the Central District of California. That prosecution remains pending and is distinct from his guilty plea in Buffalo. No conviction has been announced on the California charge, and he remains presumed innocent of that allegation unless proven guilty.

The FBI conducted the investigation under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Allen D. Davis II. The case demonstrates how unauthorized access to personal accounts can become a means of sustained harassment and exploitation, particularly when stolen private images are used to threaten victims or demand additional material.

🔥 NOW AVAILABLE! 🔥

‎👉 Eclipsera – Apple Music

Sponsored • TRJ Ads
Inquiries: contact@therealistjuggernaut.com

AVAILABLE

AVAILABLE

AVAILABLE

AVAILABLE

AVAILABLE

AVAILABLE

AVAILABLE

AVAILABLE

AVAILABLE

AVAILABLE

AVAILABLE

AVAILABLE

AVAILABLE

AVAILABLE

AVAILABLE

AVAILABLE

AVAILABLE

AVAILABLE