Guilty pleas in campaign of online terror
Coquitlam teen awaits sentencing for ‘swatting,’ extortion and criminal harassment against gamers in U.S., Canada
A Coquitlam teen fidgeted, flicked his hair and smiled to himself at times as a Crown prosecutor described how he terrorized families and wasted police resources across the U.S. last year.
The 17-year-old, who cannot be identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, pleaded guilty to 12 charges on Friday. He previously pleaded guilty to 11 charges. The charges to which he has admitted include extortion, public mischief and criminal harassment.
A sentencing hearing was held in provincial court in Port Coquitlam on Friday, during which Crown prosecutor Michael Bauer outlined the numerous incidents.
The teen found his targets — who were gamers and mostly female — online. When they would not acknowledge friend and follow requests or send him things that he wanted, such as photos, he would harass them and their families.
In January 2014, the teen contacted a female professional gamer, M.C., online and when she would not acknowledge him he said her family would be in danger and he threatened to “swat” — submit a false report to police and trigger an emergency response — her.
The same day, he called the Pleasantview Police Department in Utah and claimed he had killed his ex-girlfriend and had her family tied up. He gave M.C.’s address. The next day, he called in a second hostage situation, also at M.C.’s house.
The teen then harassed M.C. and her family for months with phone calls, texts and by spamming social media accounts and posting their personal information online.
Also in January 2014, the teen called the San Joaquin County Sheriff ’s Office and said he was holding his ex-girlfriend and her family hostage with a rifle and bombs. He claimed to be from Burnsville, Minn., and gave the name and address of a young man there.
Police responded with a bomb squad, but realized it was a hoax.
The family that lived in the home told police they had been victims of identity fraud and their personal information was posted online.
Meanwhile, a similar swatting had taken place in Burnsville the same day. The teen called police there and reported a hostage situation involving napalm bombs at the home of J.R., the same name and address given to police in San Joaquin County.
After the swatting, J.R.’s parents here harassed and had their personal information online, which resulted in identity theft and ruined their credit.
In June 2014, the teen asked to join the network of J.X., a gamer in L.A. When she refused he posted her personal information online and harassed her. Another gamer, S.P., defended her online and the teen targeted him as well.
Then, the teen contacted police in Ontario, Calif., identified himself as S.P. and reported a hostage situation at his house. He said his father was dead and his mother was tied up.
After police determined it was a hoax and spoke to S.P.’s mother, they found out that her bank accounts had been compromised two months earlier.
One of the most serious incidents involved a college student at the University of Arizona. In September 2014 the teen found E.S. online and contacted her, saying if she didn’t respond he would swat her. He claimed to have personal information about her and her parents, who lived in Phoenix.
One evening, he called Tucson police and reported two murders at her home. He said he had bombs and would kill police. He called in a second swat at her home five days later, and also made a similar call to the police department in Phoenix targeting her parents’ home.
After the incidents, the teen harassed her for months. He hacked her Internet service provider, called and texted her constantly, sent threatening messages on social media, hacked into her email and Twitter accounts and posted private and personal information online.
He also posed as E.S.’s father and cancelled utilities, phone and Internet accounts, called her parents in the middle of the night and released their financial information online.
E.S. was so upset her grades suffered and she had to withdraw from school for a semester to preserve her grade point average.
In November 2014, Newport Beach, Calif., gamer T.H. received a call from the teen — whose Twitter follow request she had previously declined — asking about her Internet connection, which had been spotty all evening. He also messaged her and asked how she was enjoying her “distributed denial of service.”
Based on the experiences of other gamers, she called police and said she thought she was going to be swatted. A few minutes later, as officers were on their way to her house, Newport Beach police received a call about a hostage situation at T.H.’s house.
On Dec. 1, 2014, the teen called Grove City Police in Ohio and reported that he was a former FBI agent who was holding a family hostage with a gun and bombs. Police responded and spent about six hours investigating. The teen made the call while streaming live on the Internet and some people watching called Grove City to report the hoax.
The teen was arrested on Dec. 5 and has been in custody since.
Sentencing recommendations were not made on Friday. Instead, Judge Patricia Janzen ordered a supplemental psychiatric report for the young man. The hearing will continue on June 29.