Former Employee of National Industrial Company Pleads Guilty to Crimes Related to Hacking Computer Networks and Extorting Employees

TRENTON, N.J. - A Missouri man has pleaded guilty to crimes related to his hacking of computer networks and extortion of employees, U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer announced.

Daniel Rhyne, 59, of Kansas City, Missouri, pleaded guilty on April 1, 2026 before U.S. District Judge Michael A. Shipp in Trenton federal court to an information charging him with extortion in relation to a threat to cause damage to a protected computer and intentional damage to a protected computer.

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 or around November 2023, Rhyne took steps to execute a scheme to hack 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 to certain other Victim-1 accounts, and shutting down multiple Victim-1 servers. On November 25, 2023, Rhyne began deploying the scheduled tasks and, on the same date, 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.

The extortion charge to which Rhyne pleaded guilty carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, and the intentional damage to a protected computer violation to which Rhyne pleaded guilty carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. Each violation also carries a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the gross amount of gain or loss from the offense, whichever is greatest.

U.S. Attorney Frazer credited special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Newark Field Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Stefanie Roddy, with the investigation. He also thanked the FBI Kansas City, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Stephen A. Cyrus, 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.