Wichita Lawyer Pleads GuiltyTo Being Involved in Cyberattack

WICHITA, KAN. – A Wichita lawyer was sentenced today after pleading guilty to being involved in a cyberattack, U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister said. He was ordered to pay a $375,000 fine and restitution of $55,200.

Bradley A. Pistotnik, 63, Wichita, Kan., pleaded guilty to three counts of being an accessory after the fact to making an extortionate threat over the internet. In his plea, Pistotnik admitted he was contacted by attorneys from the legal firm Jaburg Wilk and Ripoff Report regarding cyberattacks launched against Ripoff Report, Jaburg Wilk and Leagle. He falsely denied knowing anything about the attacks.

In fact, Pistotnik knew co-defendant David Dorsett had initiated a flood of emails against the servers used by Leagle, RipoffReport and Jaburg Wilk. Dorsett had met previously with Pistonik offering web design and reputation management services. Dorsett sent emails demanding the removal of information that reflected badly on Pistotnik from their web sites. In one of the threatening emails, Dorsett said, “… if you don’t remove it we will begin targeting your advertisers…”

McAllister commended the FBI and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Hart for their work on the case.