He made money by posting naked pictures of women online. And then he took money from those women to take them down.
The scheme netted Craig Brittain $12,000, but now the federal government has banned him from posting any more nude videos or photographs of people without their consent.
Brittain's now defunct website, www.isanybodydown.com, was up and running from 2011 until 2013. During that time he posted 1,000 intimate photos of women, and often included their personal information.
"This behavior is not only illegal but reprehensible," said Jessica Rich, director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection.
Brittain allegedly used a number of sleazy methods to get the naked photos he posted.
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He solicited pictures from men who hoped to get revenge on an ex. Men could submit the images anonymously, but Brittain required that they include personal information about the subject, including names, ages, locations, phone numbers and links to Facebook profiles.
He also solicited nude photos from women on Craigslist under false pretenses.
He then allegedly victimized some of the women a second time, by pretending to be run different companies called "Takedown Hammer" and "Takedown Lawyer." He allegedly charged women $200 to $500 to remove the pictures from his own site.
Brittain settled with the FTC, so he hasn't admit to or denied the allegations. He is required to destroy all the images and contact information he collected while operating the site, according to the agreement.
