Wisconsin Man Charged with Taking Part in Cyber Attack on Koch Industries in Wichita

WICHITA, KS—A Wisconsin man has been charged with taking part in a cyber-attack on Koch Industries in Wichita that was organized by a group called Anonymous, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said today.

Eric J. Rosol, 37, Black Creek, Wisconsin, is charged with one count of conspiracy to damage a protected computer and one count of damaging a protected computer. The indictment alleges the following:

In February 2011, a loosely organized group of computer hackers called Anonymous began using Internet Relay Chat (IRC) channels to advertise a dedicated denial of service attack against Koch industries and seeking participants to the attack. Such an attack aims at making a computer resource unavailable to users by saturating the target computer with large numbers of external communication requests. If successful, the attack causes the target computer to be unable to respond or to respond so slowly as to be effectively unavailable to users.

The attack was to be undertaken using a tool known as a “Low Orbit Ion Cannon” that could send a high volume of repeated requests to Koch Web sites.

On February 27, 2011, Anonymous told conspirators to use the Low Orbit Ion Cannon to attack a Koch Industries Web site quiltednorthern.com.

On February 28, 2011, Anonymous told conspirators to attack the Koch Industries website Kochind.com. Rosol and others launched Low Orbit Ion Cannon attacks on Kochind.com.

As a result of the attack, the website Kochind.com crashed and was unavailable for legitimate traffic.

If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000 on each count. The FBI investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alan Metzger is prosecuting.

OTHER INDICTMENTS

Maurice Kariuki Gita Waweru, 36, a citizen of Kenya, is charged two counts of failing to depart the United States as ordered and two counts of forcibly resisting agents of Homeland Security. The crimes are alleged to have occurred in January 2013 in Sedgwick County.

If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of four years in federal prison without parole and a fine up to $250,000 on each count of failing to depart the country as ordered and a maximum penalty of eight years and a fine up to $250,000 on each count of forcibly resisting. ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brent Anderson is prosecuting.

Rigoberto Navarrete-Pena, 33, a citizen of Mexico, is charged with one count of unlawful possession of a firearm by an illegal alien, one count of possessing a stolen firearm, one count of unlawful possession of a firearm by a user of controlled substances, and one count of possession of methamphetamine. The crimes are alleged to have occurred March 19, 2013, in Sedgwick County, Kansas.

If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison without parole and a fine up to $250,000 both on the counts of unlawful possession of a firearm by an alien and possession of a stolen firearm. He faces a maximum penalty of a year in prison and a fine up to $1,000 on the misdemeanor methamphetamine charge. The Wichita Police Department investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lanny Welch is prosecuting.

Marcus Sanders, 30, Wichita, Kansas, and Christopher Williams, 30, Wichita, Kansas, are charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine. In addition, Sanders is charged with one count of unlawful possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. The crimes are alleged to have occurred August 2, 2012, in Sedgwick County, Kansas.

Upon conviction the crimes carry the following penalties:

• Possession with intent to distribute crack: not less than five and not more than 40 years and a fine up to $2 million.
• Unlawful possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking: not less than five years and a fine up to $250,000.

The Wichita Police Department investigated. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Jacobs is prosecuting.

William P. Cadle, 49, DeKalb, Texas, is charged with one count of making false statements to a government agency, four counts of loan fraud, and one count of criminal conversion of mortgaged property. The crimes are alleged to have occurred at various times during 2008 through 2012 in Montgomery County, Kansas.

The indictment alleges he made false statements in order to qualify for a Farmer Service Agency operating loan and that he overvalued property in order to defraud the First National Bank.

If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000 on the charge of making false statements to the government; a maximum penalty of 30 years and a fine up to $1 million on each count of loan fraud; and a maximum penalty of five years and a fine up to $250,000 on the count of criminal conversion of mortgaged property. The U.S. Department of Agriculture investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron Smith is prosecuting.

Leonel Vazquez-Juarez, 40, a citizen of Mexico, is charged with unlawfully re-entering the United States after being deported. He was found March 8, 2013, in Sedgwick County, Kansas.

If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of two years in federal prison without parole and a fine up to $250,000. Homeland Security Investigations investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brent Anderson is prosecuting.

Edgar Juarez-Perez, 25, a citizen of Guatemala, is charged with unlawfully re-entering the United States after being deported. He was found March 8, 2013, in Sedgwick County, Kansas.

If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of two years in federal prison without parole and a fine up to $250,000. ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brent Anderson is prosecuting.

Paul David Lieder, 39, Hillsboro, Kansas, is charged with one count of Social Security disability fraud. The crime is alleged to have occurred at various times from November 2008 to August 2012 in Marion County, Kansas.

If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. The Social Security Administration-Office of Inspector General investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brent Anderson is prosecuting.

L.T. Baker, 54, Wichita, Kansas, is charged with is charged with one count of Social Security disability fraud. The crime is alleged to have occurred at various times from 2000 to September 2012 in Sedgwick County, Kansas.

If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. The Social Security Administration-Office of Inspector General investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brent Anderson is prosecuting.

Curtis Profit, 31, Wichita, Kansas, is charged with one count of unlawful possession of a firearm after a felony conviction. The crime is alleged to have occurred Jan. 24, 2013, in Sedgwick County, Kansas.

If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years and a fine up to $250,000. The Wichita Police Department investigated. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Jacobs is prosecuting.

In all cases, defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. The indictments merely contain allegations of criminal conduct.