A federal grand jury has indicted David Joseph Rezendes, a 27-year-old California resident, on allegations that he launched a denial of service attack on Larimer County government computers back in 2010, U.S. Attorney John Walsh and the FBI announced Monday.
Rezendes, a former resident of Fort Collins, was arrested Aug. 23 in Sonora, Texas, on a traffic stop. Officials are seeking to have him detained and returned to Colorado to face the charges against him.
A denial of service attack is one that overwhelms a targeted computer system or network with communications traffic, leaving it unavailable to its users.
From Sept. 22 to Sept. 24, 2010, authorities allege Rezendes conducted a retaliatory attack on Larimer County’s system, preventing employees from accessing their e-mails and the Internet.
Rezendes allegedly was seeking revenge for a charge against him of driving under the influence. A Larimer County Sheriff’s Deputy found him asleep behind the wheel of a parked car with the keys in the ignition, according to court documents.
He is accused of damaging a protected computer, possessing unauthorized credit card information, aggravated identity theft and producing a false identification document.
“The computer attack in this case had a significant impact on Larimer County both operationally and financially,” said Larimer County Sheriff Justin Smith.
If convicted, Rezendes faces up to 10 years in prison and $250,000 fine for damaging a computer. He also faces up to 15 years imprisonment and up to a $250,000 fine for possessing and using equipment to produce a false identification document.
Rezendes told investigators he ran a web hosting business and a “novelty id” business, according to court documents.
