First U.S. spyware conviction in a decade ends in time served

Bryan Fleming, a convicted spyware maker, has avoided jail time after pleading guilty to federal charges. On Friday, Fleming was sentenced in a San Diego federal court to time served—a sentence where the time already spent in custody is credited against the sentence—and a $5,000 fine. The sentence was confirmed by a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California, whose office prosecuted the case. Prosecutors had previously requested that Fleming receive no custodial sentence or fine.

The conviction represents the first successful prosecution of a spyware maker by the U.S. Department of Justice since 2014. Charges were brought against Fleming in 2025 by Homeland Security Investigations, a unit within U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as part of a wider probe into the consumer-grade spyware industry. While many spyware operators run their businesses from overseas, federal investigators targeted Fleming because he sold and facilitated the software from within the United States, placing him within the reach of U.S. law enforcement.

During a plea hearing in January, Fleming admitted to making, selling, and advertising spyware for unlawful uses. His company, pcTattletale, sold what is known as “stalkerware”—spyware apps used to monitor devices without knowledge or consent. According to federal investigators, Fleming, in some cases, “knowingly assisted customers seeking to spy on nonconsenting, non-employee adults.” A security researcher reported that pcTattletale had a security flaw that exposed millions of screen captures to the open internet. Fleming eventually shut down the company in 2024 following a data breach, which revealed that more than 138,000 customers had paid the company to help spy on victims. Following the breach, Fleming stated that he deleted all data from the company’s servers. The shutdown of pcTattletale follows similar closures of competitor spyware companies, including LetMeSpy, Cocospy, and Spyhide.

Why it matters

The sentencing marks the first successful prosecution of a spyware maker by the U.S. Department of Justice since 2014, potentially opening the door to future prosecutions against others with illegal surveillance operations.