New Mexico Man Sentenced on DDoS, Gun Charges

Using DDoS for hire is a losing strategy…especially if you get caught. That's the lesson a New Mexico man is learning at the hands of a federal judge in Minnesota. John Kelsey Gammell was sentenced to serve 180 months in prison by US District Judge Wilhelmina M. Wright after he pleaded guilty on Jan. 17 to one count of conspiracy to cause intentional damage to a protected computer and two counts of being a felon-in-possession of a firearm.

According to statements made as part of his guilty plea, Gammell conducted DDoS attacks on dozens of websites, including websites operated by companies he used to work for, companies that declined to hire him, competitors of his business, and websites for law enforcement agencies and courts.

Gammell used both his own computers and DDoS for hire services, including VDoS, CStress, Inboot, Booter.xyz, and IPStresser to launch the attacks. He then tried to hide his involvement with a variety of tactics, from spoofing IP addresses and using cryptocurrency to pay for the services to encrypting and scrubbing hard disks on his personal computers.

A hearing on restitution to the victims will be held at a later date.

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