Seattle Man Sentenced to Over Two Years in Prison for Cyberstalking Campaign

A former Information Technology professional was sentenced to 30 months in prison and three years supervised release for conducting cyberstalking and threat campaigns against multiple Washington residents, announced Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes of the Western District of Washington.  The victims’ names are being withheld to protect their privacy.

Joel Kurzynski, 39, of Seattle, Washington, was sentenced in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington by U.S. District Judge Robert S. Lasnik.

According to admissions made in connection with his plea, Kurzynski engaged in an extensive and rapidly escalating cyberstalking campaign that targeted two individuals known to him.  The online campaign involved -- among other things -- death threats, body shaming, and hate speech. Beginning in March 2017, Kurzynski orchestrated numerous spam phone calls to Victim 1. The conduct soon escalated to fake dating profiles wherein Kurzynski portrayed Victim 1 as seeking sadomasochistic or underage relationships. These profiles contained photographs of Victim 1 and his contact information, resulting in solicitations and harassing messages directed toward Victim 1 from multiple strangers.  Kurzynski then sent several anonymous death threats to Victim 1, including the threat, “faggot. Time to die.”  At one point, Kurzynski impersonated a journalist and contacted Victim 1, claiming that an upcoming article would levy sexual misconduct allegations against Victim 1 related to Victim 1’s work with a non-profit youth organization.

Kurzysnki also admitted that in November 2017, he began registering Victim 2 for numerous weight loss and suicide prevention programs, resulting in a wave of calls and emails from entities such as Overeaters Anonymous, Weight Watchers, Yellow Ribbon Suicide Prevention, and others. Within weeks, Kurzynski started sending anonymous death threats to Victim 2, many of which referenced Victim 2’s work address. One threat claimed that he was waiting for her in the lobby, and another that said, “Looking forward to seeing you today and how much you bleed.  Don’t go to the bathroom alone.”

The U.S. Secret Service’s Seattle Field Office investigated the case with substantial assistance from the Seattle Police Department and King County Prosecutor’s Office.  Senior Counsel Frank Lin of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Francis Franze-Nakamura of the Western District of Washington prosecuted the case.

Victims of cyberstalking campaigns such as this often may be hesitant to come forward.  The Justice Department encourages individuals who may be the victims of similar schemes to contact their local law enforcement agencies to report this conduct.

California Telescope Enthusiast Sentenced to Prison for Cyber Attack

OKLAHOMA CITY – DAVID CHESLEY GOODYEAR, 44, of El Segundo, California, has been sentenced to 26 months in prison for directing distributed-denial-of-service (DDoS) cyber attacks against two websites owned by Oklahoma telescope retailer Astronomics in August 2016, announced Robert J. Troester of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

In August 2017, a federal grand jury charged Goodyear with attacking the websites of Astronomics, a family-owned telescope retailer in Norman, Oklahoma.  He instigated a DDoS cyber attack, in which the perpetrator floods the victim’s computer with useless information from botnets—large clusters of connected devices infected with malware and controlled remotely—and prevents access by legitimate users.

On February 15, 2018, after two days of trial, a jury returned a guilty verdict.  The evidence showed that Astronomics operated the world’s largest free astronomy forum on the internet, called Cloudy Nights, and that Goodyear had been a registered user on the site under a variety of aliases.  Each of Goodyear’s usernames and his primary IP address had been banned for violating the terms of service of Cloudy Nights, including sending threats to other users, administrators, and moderators.

The jury heard that Goodyear attempted to access Cloudy Nights as "JamesSober" on August 13, 2016, but his access to the online community was denied because his "JamesSober" account had been banned on August 9, 2016.  Goodyear then posted messages on Cloudy Nights under a new alias, "HawaiiAPUser," including pornography and profanity directed at Astronomics and the volunteer administrators and moderators of Cloudy Nights.  In the posts, he threatened that he would "talk with [his] contacts and just DOS this site as well as A55tronomics."  Evidence further showed that DDoS attacks against Astronomics and Cloudy Nights began that night and continued intermittently until the end of August 2016, when law enforcement interviewed Goodyear, who admitted he was responsible for the attacks.

On December 3, 2018, Chief U.S. District Judge Joe Heaton sentenced Goodyear to 26 months in the federal Bureau of Prisons, followed by three years of supervised release.  He was ordered to pay $27,352.51 in restitution to Astronomics, which represents lost profits and mitigation costs.  The court also fined him $2,500.00.  Judge Heaton explained the punishment by pointing out Goodyear’s clear intent to harm Astronomics and the importance of deterring sophisticated cybercrimes, which are difficult to trace and therefore particularly important to punish and thereby send the appropriate message to others.

This sentence is the result of an investigation by the FBI, with support from the United States Secret Service Electronic Crimes Task Force in Los Angeles, which includes personnel from the Los Angeles Police Department.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys K. McKenzie Anderson and William E. Farrior.

Reference is made to public filings for further information.

Texas Man Indicted for Conspiracy to Commit Computer Fraud

ALBANY, NEW YORK – A federal grand jury has indicted Tyler King, age 29, of Grand Prairie, Texas, for conspiring to access and install malicious software on a technology company’s computer network

The announcement was made by United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith and James N. Hendricks, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

According to the indictment, King conspired with Ashley St. Andria to gain unauthorized access to the computer network of a New York-based technology company.  The conspiracy involved creating unauthorized network user accounts to access emails and files of senior company officials, and installing malicious software designed to circumvent security measures and permit the monitoring and alteration of the company’s records.

The charge in the indictment is merely an accusation.  The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

King’s alleged co-conspirator, Ashley St. Andria, age 29, of Irving, Texas, pled guilty to computer fraud on August 15, 2018.  St. Andria is scheduled to be sentenced on April 15, 2019 in Albany by Senior United States District Judge Thomas J. McAvoy.

The case is being investigated by the FBI and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Wayne A. Myers.