Man who ‘swatted’ West Covina resident via Ring doorbell hack is sentenced to federal prison

A 23-year-old man charged in a “swatting” spree in which he and others accessed Ring doorbell accounts and placed hoax calls that elicited police SWAT responses — including one in West Covina — was sentenced Thursday to three years and eight months in federal prison.

Kya Christian Nelson of Racine, Wisconsin, pleaded guilty in January to three felony charges: conspiracy and two counts of unauthorized access to a protected computer to obtain information, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Nelson and James Thomas Andrew McCarty, 22, of Charlotte, North Carolina, were each charged in December 2022 in Los Angeles federal court.

Prosecutors said that for one week in November 2020, Nelson and McCarty gained access to home security door cameras sold by Ring LLC, a Santa Monica-based home security technology company. They also acquired username and password information for victims’ Yahoo email accounts, the indictment states.

In the West Covina case, Nelson and an accomplice accessed the victim’s Yahoo and Ring accounts, then placed a hoax call to the West Covina Police Department. Prosecutors said the caller posed as a minor child and reported her parents were drinking and shooting guns inside the residence.

The series of nationwide swatting incidents prompted the FBI in late 2020 to issue a public service announcement urging users of smart home devices with cameras and voice capabilities to use complex, unique passwords and enable two-factor authentication to help protect against swatting attacks.

McCarty was sentenced in June 2024 to seven years in federal prison both for his role in the Los Angeles case, and for additional charges in the District of Arizona. In connection with the Ring swatting incidents, McCarty pleaded guilty to the same conspiracy charge as Nelson.