Two men charged with hacking RING doorbell cameras, livestreaming police responses in nationwide ‘swatting’ scheme – Law Officer

LOS ANGELES – Two men from different states have been charged with participating in a one-week “swatting” spree that gained access to a dozen Ring home security door cameras nationwide, placed false emergency phone calls designed to elicit an emergency police response, then livestreamed the events on social media, while occasionally taunting responding officers, according to the Justice Department.

The criminal defendants were identified as Kya Christian Nelson, a.k.a. “ChumLul,” 21, of Racine, Wisconsin, and James Thomas Andrew McCarty, a.k.a. “Aspertaine,” 20, of Charlotte, North Carolina. Nelson is currently incarcerated in Kentucky in an unrelated case. McCarty resided in Kaventa, Arizona at the time the crimes were committed in 2020. Both men were arrested last week on federal charges filed in the District of Arizona, reported Breaking 911.

Nelson and McCarty are each charged with one count of conspiracy to intentionally access computers without authorization. Furthermore, Nelson was also charged with two counts of intentionally accessing without authorization a computer and two counts of aggravated identity theft.

The co-conspirators were indicted Friday by a federal grand jury in Los Angeles. According to the indictment, they illegally gained access to RING home security doorbell cameras from November 7, 2020, to November 13, 2020 for various victims throughout the U.S.

Upon hacking the private security systems, Nelson and McCarty reportedly placed bogus emergency related calls to local law enforcement in the geographical areas where the victims resided. These reports or calls were intended to elicit an emergency police response to the victim’s residence, the indictment alleges.

As law enforcement authorities responded to the false emergencies, Nelson and McCarty transmitted the audio and video from the RING devices on social media. During several incidents, the duo would actually taunt responding officers and victims through the security systems, Breaking 911 reported.

The crimes occurred in West Covina, California; Flat Rock, Michigan; Redding, California; Billings, Montana; Decatur, Georgia; Chesapeake, Virginia; Rosenberg, Texas; Oxnard, California; Darien, Illinois; Huntsville, Alabama; North Port, Florida; and Katy, Texas.

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