Liverman Admits to Hacking Senior U.S. Officials

ALEXANDRIA, VA – Justin G. Liverman, 24, of Morehead City, North Carolina, has confessed to a chilling plot to harass and intimidate high-ranking U.S. government officials. The young hacker pleaded guilty today to charges stemming from a years-long conspiracy involving unauthorized computer access, identity theft, and relentless telephone harassment. The feds say this wasn’t just teenage mischief; it was a calculated attack on those in power.

Court documents reveal the scheme kicked off in November 2015, with Liverman and his co-conspirators targeting officials and their families. The methods were brutal and invasive. Liverman didn’t just stop at online threats. He publicly dumped stolen documents and personal information ripped from a victim’s private account. Then came the threatening texts and the truly insidious “phonebombing” – a barrage of calls flooding the victim’s phone with a menacing message.

The scope of the hack went beyond simple harassment. In November 2015, the conspiracy exploited a victim’s stolen government credentials to breach a confidential federal law enforcement database. This wasn’t some low-level data scrape. They pulled information on dozens of law enforcement officers and brazenly uploaded it to a public website, potentially putting lives at risk. The sheer recklessness of this act is staggering.

Liverman now faces a maximum sentence of five years behind bars when he appears before U.S. District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee on May 12. While the statutory maximum is set by Congress, the final decision rests with the judge, who will consider sentencing guidelines and other factors. This isn’t a guarantee of five years, but Liverman is looking at serious time.

His alleged accomplice, Andrew Otto Boggs, also of North Carolina, is expected to follow suit and enter a guilty plea on January 10, indicating a potential domino effect in the investigation. The case was jointly announced by U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente, FBI Assistant Director in Charge Paul M. Abbate, and U.S. Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Brian J. Ebert. The prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Maya D. Song, Jay V. Prabhu, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph V. Longobardo.

The investigation was a multi-agency effort, with significant assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Eastern and Western Districts of North Carolina, and the FBI’s Charlotte Division. For those seeking further information, a press release is available on the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia website. Court documents can be found on the District Court website or via PACER, using Case No. 1:16-cr-313. This case serves as a stark reminder that even those in positions of power are vulnerable to the growing threat of cyberattacks and the individuals who perpetrate them.