The founder of a U.S.-based spyware company whose surveillance products allowed customers to spy on the phones and computers of unsuspecting victims has pleaded guilty to federal charges related to his company’s long-running operations.
pcTattletale founder Brian Fleming entered a guilty plea Tuesday in San Diego federal court to charges of computer hacking, selling and promoting surveillance software for illegal use, and conspiracy.
The plea comes after a multi-year investigation by investigators from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), a division within U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. HSI began investigating pcTattletale in mid-2021 as part of a broader investigation into the consumer surveillance software industry, also known as “stalkerware.”
This marks the first successful prosecution of a stalkerware operator by the U.S. federal government in more than a decade, following the 2014 indictment and subsequent guilty plea of the creator of a phone monitoring app called StealthGenie. Mr. Fleming’s conviction could pave the way for further federal investigations and prosecutions not only of those operating spyware but also of those simply promoting and selling covert surveillance software.
According to HSI, pcTattletale is one of several stalkerware websites under investigation.
An ICE spokesperson did not immediately comment when contacted by TechCrunch. Kelly Thornton, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California, which prosecuted Fleming, declined to comment.
Fleming’s attorney, Marcus Bourassa, did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
pcTattletale was a remote monitoring app that had been under Fleming’s control since at least 2016. Stalkerware apps like pcTattletale allow consumers to purchase software that can track people and their data, including lovers and spouses, without their knowledge, which is illegal in the United States and many other countries.
Once physically planted on a person’s phone or computer (usually with knowledge of the victim’s passcode or login), the app continuously uploads copies of the victim’s information, including messages, photos, and location data, to pcTattletale’s servers, making that data accessible to the person who planted the spyware.
Fleming shut down pcTattletale in 2024 following a data breach in which hackers defaced the company’s website and stole large amounts of data from its servers, including the personal information of customers and their victims. More than 138,000 customers who signed up to use pcTattletale shared breach information on the data breach notification site Have I Been Pwned.
At the time, Fleming told TechCrunch that after deleting the content on pcTattletale’s servers, his company was “going out of business and completely over.”
Despite the shutdown, federal investigators were already well into their investigation into Fleming’s illegal spyware business.
Feds search founder’s $1.2 million home
HSI began investigating pcTattletale in June 2021 after discovering more than 100 stalkerware websites offering surveillance products, many of which promoted legitimate uses of the software, such as monitoring children and employees.
pcTattletale stood out because it specifically promoted spyware to “covertly spy on a spouse or partner,” HSI Special Agent Nick Jones said in a 2022 affidavit supporting a search warrant for Fleming’s home. The affidavit was unsealed in early December 2025, ahead of Fleming’s scheduled oral hearing.
Importantly for investigators, Fleming is believed to have operated pcTattletale from his home in Bruce Township, Michigan, which is well within reach of U.S. law enforcement but unlike many stalkerware operators overseas.
Unlike some stalkerware operators who hide their identities to avoid the legal and reputational risks of dealing with spyware, Fleming was brazen in how he promoted pcTattletale. In a video posted on YouTube, Fleming was seen promoting himself as the creator and founder of pcTattletale from his home.
HSI obtained a warrant in 2022 authorizing a search of Fleming’s email accounts, according to the affidavit. HSI said the emails show Fleming “knowingly assisted customers in attempting to spy on non-consenting non-employee adults.”
Federal agents then conducted surveillance at Mr. Fleming’s home and confirmed that it was indeed Mr. Fleming.
Jones also went undercover to gather evidence posing as an affiliate marketer promoting spyware in exchange for a portion of the proceeds. The operation resulted in Mr. Jones exchanging emails with Mr. Fleming in which the pcTattletale founder provided images for banner ads promoting spyware as a way to “catch scammers” and revealed that Mr. Fleming wanted to sell his company’s products for illegal purposes.
By November 2022, HSI had received permission from a U.S. judge to search Fleming’s home, and agents searched the home shortly after and seized an unknown number of items. Investigators also obtained records related to Fleming’s bank and PayPal accounts, which had transactions totaling more than $600,000 as of the end of 2021.
The search warrant was filed under seal amid concerns that Fleming might destroy or tamper with evidence. Fleming later sold the house for $1.2 million, according to public records.
Fleming’s conviction is a victory for privacy advocates and campaigners working to combat the spread of stalkerware and raise awareness of its dangers.
Eva Galperin, director of cybersecurity at the Electronic Frontier Foundation and co-founder of the Anti-Stalkerware Coalition, who has researched and fought stalkerware for many years, commented on Fleming’s guilty plea in an interview with TechCrunch.
“One of the most impressive aspects of this case is the extent to which stalkerware companies like pcTattletale operate openly,” Galperin said. “That’s because the people behind these companies rarely face serious consequences for selling tools that they themselves explicitly claim are for monitoring other people’s devices, without their knowledge or consent.”
“We hope this case changes the risk calculus of stalkerware manufacturers,” Galperin said.
Fleming is scheduled to be sentenced later this year.
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If you or someone you know needs help, the National Domestic Violence Hotline (1-800-799-7233) provides free and confidential support to victims of domestic violence and violence 24/7. If you are in an emergency, please call 911. If you think your phone has been compromised by spyware, the Coalition Against Stalkerware has resources.
