Former college track coach who tricked women into sending him nude photos indicted on 15 counts, Feds say

BOSTON – A former college athletics coach accused of setting up fake email and social media accounts to trick women into sending him nude or semi-naked pictures of themselves has been charged with 15 counts. name, federal prosecutors said Thursday.

Steve Waithe, 28, of Chicago, was initially arrested in April and released in May. According to the US attorney’s office in Boston, he is scheduled to appear in federal court in Boston on December 9.

He was charged with 12 counts of telephone fraud, and one count of cyber fraud, conspiracy to commit computer fraud, and aiding and abetting computer fraud.

Waithe’s federal public defender said by email she had no comment.

Waithe has coached at several colleges, including Northeastern, Penn State, Illinois Institute of Technology, Tennessee and Concordia University Chicago, federal prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said that starting in February 2020, Waithe used fake social media accounts to communicate with women, saying he had found intrusive photos of them online. He would then offer to help the women remove photos from the internet, asking them to submit more nude or semi-nude photos that he could use for “reverse image searches,” prosecutors said. said.

Investigators said investigators had identified more than a dozen fake social media accounts used by Waithe and more than 350 photos submitted by more than 49 victims across the country, prosecutors say. know. Authorities said six of the women were members of the Northeast racing team.

Waithe is also charged with hacking a victim through text and direct messages sent via social media, as well as by breaking into her Snapchat account, prosecutors said.

Reviewing Waithe’s browser history also uncovers searches like “Can anyone follow my fake Instagram account with me?” and how to hack Snapchat accounts, prosecutors said.