Two men were sentenced to federal prison Monday for hacking into the email accounts of professional poker players and threatening to publicize naked photographs and other personal information to extort them.

Prosecutors said Tyler Schrier, 23, was sentenced to three and a half years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy, extortion and unauthorized access to a protected computer to obtain information. Under the terms of the plea agreement, Schrier also admitted to extorting more than $26,000 in a separate plot involving online poker players.

Keith James Hudson, 39, pleaded guilty to hacking into a player’s account to steal naked pictures and plotting with Schrier on how to extort players, according to prosecutors. He received a two-year prison sentence.

22-year-old Ryder Finney, a third defendant in the case, pleaded guilty to conspiracy and will be sentenced later this year in Philadelphia.

One of the players targeted in the extortion scheme was former poker pro Joe Sebok, the stepson of poker legend Barry Greenstein. Prosecutors said that Schrier and Hudson stole naked photos and intimate emails from Sebok in 2010 and threatened to post the revealing items online if he and other victims did not pay them hundreds of thousands of dollars.

None of the victims made payments to the extortionists, according to prosecutors. Schrier later sent a nude photo of Sebok to approximately 100 people. Sebok called the experience a “nightmare” and has virtually disappeared from the poker world since 2011. He has most recently been working at a winery in Santa Rosa, Calif.

During the sentencing hearing of Schrier and Hudson, Sebok addressed the court to say that he and other victims had seen their lives “altered and shattered in irreparable ways.”

“In short, I was no longer able to maintain my then-current level of participation in the poker industry, representing the brands that I had been previously, as well as greatly destroying my ability to do so with new companies moving forward,” Sebok said, according to U.S. Attorney’s spokesman Thom Mrozek.

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At the end of October 2012, Phil Ivey announced his plans to launch a new website, IveyPoker.com, dedicated to teaching people how to play poker the “right way.”

Ivey has since been working to form a team of professionals who will provide free, downloadable video instruction to the poker community. Since the announcement, Ivey has selected 28 poker players to become part of Team Ivey. Some of the members of the team include Patrik Antonius, Jennifer Harman, Greg Merson, Dan Shak and Cole South.

On February 6, 2013, IveyPoker has expanded even more with the acquisition of LeggoPoker to start the Ivey League:

IveyPoker today announced the acquisition of LeggoPoker, a community-based website focused on teaching poker strategy through instructional videos from professional experts. Founded by Phil Ivey, IveyPoker offers a suite of innovative poker products and services designed to both entertain and educate poker players of all levels. The acquisition of LeggoPoker will serve as the foundation for a new IveyPoker product offering called Ivey League – a subscription-based poker teaching site featuring training videos and content from Team Ivey, a network of the world’s best professional poker players.

Building off of LeggoPoker’s well-established and reputable poker training site, Ivey League will be the most effective way to improve one’s poker game by offering detailed, individualized instruction from world-class coaches who are invested in making better poker players. LeggoPoker’s team of highly-skilled instructors, including Aaron Jones, Dan Smith and Andrew Lichtenberger, will expand to include members of Team Ivey.

“In my opinion, LeggoPoker is one of the best teaching sites on the market,” said Ivey. “They are a great match with IveyPoker and together we will offer a top-notch educational poker destination in Ivey League.”

Ivey League is the next logical step for players after they’ve received initial instruction from the IveyPoker app, the highly-anticipated and soon-to-be-launched free-to-play social and mobile poker game. Designed by Ivey, the IveyPoker app offers a unique poker experience designed to both entertain and educate.

As part of the announcement, Jones and Ivey sat down to talk about joining forces and what it means moving forward:

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Check out the original source here! Originally from PokerNews.com