'Sextortion' prison terms given in plot against pro poker players

Two California men were sentenced Monday for a plot in which they threatened to publicize naked photos and other private information belonging to professional poker players.

"Sextortionists" Tyler Schrier, 23, and Keith James Hudson, 39, pleaded guilty to an array of charges related to the extortion plot, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Schrier received a 42-month prison sentence for conspiracy, extortion and unauthorized access to a protected computer to obtain information. He also admitted to extorting $26,000 from poker players in another plot.

Hudson got a two-year term for hacking into email accounts, stealing naked photos and plotting with Schrier.

Schrier and Hudson made their attempt in the fall of 2010, when they stole photos and emails from Joe Sebok and threatened to post them online.

Prosecutors said Sebok and the other victims refused to pay the hundreds of thousands of dollars demanded by Schrier and Hudson, so the defendants sent a naked photo to about 100 people.

Sebok, addressing the court, said his and other victims "lives [were] altered and shattered in unrepairable ways."

The fallout, Sebok said, "instantly damaged my ability to sustain my livelihood doing what I had been since 2005."

Sebok said he lost both current and future endorsement deals and the plot hampered his ability to participate in poker play.

A third defendant, Ryder Finney, 22, pleaded guilty to conspiracy and will be sentenced in a Philadelphia federal court this year.