Category: Cybercrime
Afeez Olatunji Adewale, Sexual Extortion, Pennsylvania 2026
⏱ 2 min read Afeez Olatunji Adewale, a 27-year-old Nigerian man, was sentenced to 60 months in prison for his role in a money laundering conspiracy and wire fraud scheme that involved the sexual extortion of a young man in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The scheme ultimately led to the victim’s death. Adewale was…
Mario Jerome Bentley, Cyberstalking and Ammunition Possession, Florida 2023
⏱ 3 min read Mario Jerome Bentley, a 44-year-old Jacksonville man, waged a campaign of harassment and intimidation against two former Assistant United States Attorneys, flooding one of their direct lines with hundreds of calls and leaving threatening voicemails starting in April 2023. In September of the same year, law enforcement searched his home, uncovering…
Angelo Martino, Ransomware Conspiracy, Florida 2023
⏱ 2 min read Angelo Martino, a 41-year-old ransomware negotiator from Land O’Lakes, Florida, was sentenced to 70 months in prison for conspiring with Blackcat/ALPHV actors to extort multiple US victims. Martino, who was hired to help victims negotiate with ransomware gangs, instead betrayed their trust by feeding their confidential negotiating positions to the gangs,…
Angelo Martino, Ransomware Extortion, Florida 2026
Land O’Lakes, FL – In a shocking betrayal, 41-year-old Angelo Martino, a former ransomware negotiator, has been sentenced to 70 months in prison for conspiring with notorious Blackcat/ALPHV (BlackCat) actors to extort multiple victims in 2023. Martino’s crimes left a trail of devastation, with victims sharing heartbreaking accounts of how their businesses were nearly destroyed.…
Peter Stokes, Cyber Conspiracy, Illinois 2023
⏱ 2 min read Peter Stokes, a 19-year-old dual citizen of the US and Estonia, has been extradited from Finland to face federal cyber conspiracy charges in the Northern District of Illinois. Stokes is alleged to be a member of the notorious hacking group Scattered Spider, also known as Octo Tempest, UNC3944, and 0ktapus. The…
Cristobal Torres Alvarez, Operating as an Airmen without an Airmen’s Certificate, Texas 2026
⏱ 2 min read A Mexican national, Cristobal Torres Alvarez, 40, flew his unregistered drone, a DJI Mini 4 PRO, in restricted airspace around Dallas Stadium during the FIFA World Cup, sparking a federal investigation. The incident occurred on June 29, 2026, when a Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) was in effect. Alvarez allegedly operated the…
Nathan Austad, Computer Intrusion, New York 2025
⏱ 2 min read Nathan Austad, aka ‘Snoopy’, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for his role in a scheme to hack user accounts on a fantasy sports and betting website in the Southern District of New York. On November 18, 2022, Austad and his co-conspirators launched a ‘credential stuffing attack’ on the website,…
Luis Mauricio Flores Ordonez, Drone Operation, Texas 2026
⏱ 2 min read A Honduran national, Luis Mauricio Flores Ordonez, 33, was charged with piloting an unregistered drone in protected airspace near Dallas Stadium before a FIFA World Cup match on June 15, 2026. The incident occurred while a Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) was in effect, and Flores Ordonez allegedly flew his DJI Mini…
Ezekiel Dean Potter, Computer Fraud, Iowa 2025
⏱ 2 min read Ezekiel Dean Potter, a 34-year-old former IT employee, hacked into the Saydel Community School District in Des Moines, Iowa, over a year and a half after being terminated in April 2023. Potter downloaded over 300 usernames and passwords, using them to disrupt district operations, including taking down a social media page,…
Drew Holzlein, Distributing Child Sexual Abuse Material, New Jersey 2026
⏱ 2 min read Drew Holzlein, a 57-year-old New Jersey man, was sentenced to 350 months in prison for distributing child sexual abuse material on a dark-web site dedicated to discussing and trafficking in CSAM. The sentencing took place in Newark, New Jersey, and was the result of a prosecution by the US Attorney’s Office.…
