Former Employee of Industrial Company Sentenced to 32 Months in Prison for Computer Attack and Extortion

NEWARK, N.J. - A Kansas City, Missouri man was sentenced to 32 months in prison for crimes related to his intentional damage to computer networks and extortion of employees, U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer announced.

Daniel Rhyne, 59, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Michael A. Shipp to a two-count Information that charged him with extortion in relation to a threat to cause damage to a protected computer and intentional damage to a protected computer. Judge Shipp imposed the sentence on September 28, 2026 in Trenton federal court.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Rhyne, then a New Jersey resident, worked as a core infrastructure engineer at a U.S.-based industrial company headquartered in New Jersey (Victim-1). In November 2023, Rhyne took steps to execute a scheme to attack Victim-1's computer network and extort Victim-1 into paying a ransom. Specifically, and among other things, Rhyne initiated unauthorized remote desktop sessions and prepared for the attack by scheduling tasks that would trigger damage to Victim-1's network. These tasks included deleting network administrator accounts, changing passwords of other Victim-1 accounts, and shutting down multiple Victim-1 servers. On November 25, 2023, Rhyne sent an extortion email to Victim-1 employees in which he threatened to continue shutting down Victim-1 servers unless and until he received approximately 20 bitcoin, which, at the time, was valued at approximately $750,000.

U.S. Attorney Frazer credited special agents of the FBI's Newark Field Office, under the direction of Stefanie Roddy, with the investigation. He also thanked the FBI's Kansas City Field Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Chris Ormerod, for its assistance.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Taj Moore of the Cybercrime Unit in Newark.

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Defense counsel: Jonathan F. Marshall, Esq.