Another young man charged with making online threats

BROWNSVILLE, Texas – A federal grand jury has indicted an 18-year-old resident of Harlingen for making threats to damage federal and religious buildings, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick.

Joel Hayden Schrimsher is charged in a six-count indictment, returned today, alleging he made threats through the internet to damage or destroy buildings and conveyed false or misleading information through the internet concerning those threats. He is expected to make his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ronald G. Morgan in Brownsville later this week.

Schrimser is the second young adult facing federal charges in less than a week related to making threats via social media platforms. A Corpus Christi 19-year-old was charged Oct. 24 after he made threats on his Facebook account.

“Parents must talk with their kids about the repercussions of making threats to schools and other public places,” said Patrick. “Law enforcement responses are thorough, time consuming and take finite resources to address.”

The indictment alleges Schrimsher made threats via his Twitter account indicating he intended to mail a bomb to the Federal Reserve, set a Mosque on fire and shoot at a Synagogue.

If convicted of making a threat to damage or destroy a building through the use of an instrument of interstate or foreign commerce, Schrimsher faces up to 10 years in federal prison, while conveying false or misleading information carries up to a five-year-term of federal imprisonment. Both charges could result in a $250,000 maximum possible fine.

The FBI, Cameron County District Attorney’s Office, police departments in Harlingen and Brownsville and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives conducted the investigation. Assistant U. S. Attorneys Jody Young and Oscar Ponce are prosecuting the case.

An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence.

A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.

Kent, Washington man who made multiple online threats sentenced to 5 years in prison

Defendant with severe mental illness threatened media figures, the Jewish community and members of the Trump family

Seattle – A 27-year-old Kent, Washington, man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to five years in prison and three years of supervised release for two counts of making interstate threats.  CHASE BLISS COLASURDO made multiple online posts threatening members of President Trump’s family and media figures in Southern California and made threats to bomb synagogues.  COLASURDO, was arrested May 1, 2019 after he attempted to purchase a firearm. At the sentencing hearing Chief U.S. District Judge Ricardo S. Martinez said, “Mental illness may explain the intensity, but it does not excuse the actions that he took or the threats that he made instilling fear in his victims.”

“This case shines a spotlight on the frightening intersection of mental illness and weapons,” said U.S. Attorney Moran.  “I commend law enforcement who closely monitored this defendant so that he was arrested before he could commit any violent acts.  Supervision following prison is designed to stop him from such frightening threats and behavior in the future.”   

According to records in the case, in March 2019, a member of the public reported to the FBI concerns about Instagram and other social media posts where COLASURDO threatened to execute members of President Donald Trump’s family.  Additionally, COLASURDO sent messages to five different media organizations that he was going to execute the family member.  COLASURDO posted a photo on Instagram showing a hand with a firearm pointed at the photo of a Trump family member.  When initially contacted by law enforcement in March, COLASURDO claimed his social media accounts had been hacked.

Despite his statements that he was not responsible for the posts, COLASURDO continued to make threatening comments, specifically threats to members of the Jewish community.  In one post, he wrote it was time to start “bombing synagogues.”  Throughout April 2019, COLASURDO sent threatening email messages and online posts to media figures in Southern California using anti-Semitic slurs and threats to kill.  As law enforcement continued to track his activity, it became clear he was purchasing various items related to firearms, such as a holster, bulletproof vest, and ammunition.  COLASURDO attempted to purchase a firearm but was denied.

When law enforcement served search warrants at COLASURDO’s apartment, they recovered Nazi and Adolph Hitler related items, as well as ammunition, night vision goggles, and a gas mask.   

“People need to understand that such threats will be taken seriously,” Chief Judge Martinez said.  “It makes no difference to the victims that the person was mentally ill.”      

The case was investigated by the FBI and U.S. Secret Service, in conjunction with an investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department. Significant assistance was provided by the Sound Regional Violent Crimes Task Force. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Todd Greenberg

Portland Man Pleads Guilty for Cyber Intrusion of Former Employer

PORTLAND, Ore.—Kristopher Ives, 33, of Portland, pleaded guilty today to fraud in connection with computers for illegally accessing the computer network and data of his former employer, Gearbox Studios, after being terminated.

According to court documents, in 2008, Ives began working as a computer programmer for Gearbox Studios, a Portland-based digital marketing agency. Ives eventually became Gearbox Studio’s lead programmer for server architecture and support, a position of trust with access to the computer networks and data of both the company and the company’s clients.

Between February and May 2015, after being terminated from his position, Ives illegally accessed Gearbox’s computers to steal and tamper with data. He used this data to attack Gearbox’s servers and various websites belonging to Gearbox customers. Ives deleted nearly 20,000 products from customer websites and changed prices for various items. Ives also stole names and credit card numbers from these Gearbox customer websites and threatened to release the information unless Gearbox made payment to a bitcoin address.

Ives faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. He will be sentenced on January 22, 2020 before U.S. District Court Judge Michael H. Simon.

As part of the plea agreement, Ives has agreed to pay restitution to his victims as ordered by the court.

This case was investigated by the FBI’s Oregon Cybercrime Task Force and is being prosecuted by Quinn P. Harrington, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.

Any public or private entity suspecting a cyber intrusion or attack should contact the FBI through the Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov or by calling your nearest FBI office.