United States v. Jonathan Donohue

United States v. Jonathan Donohue (21-CR-80119-RLR)

Court Assigned: This case is assigned to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, Paul G. Rogers Federal Courthouse, 701 Clematis Street, Room 402, West Palm Beach, FL 33401.  The assigned judge is U.S. District Judge Robin L. Rosenberg.

Summary of Offenses

The sentencing hearing for defendant Jonathan Donohue, has been rescheduled for December 20, 2021 at 2:00 PM at West Palm Beach Division, Paul G. Rogers Federal Courthouse, 701 Clematis Street., Room 402, West Palm Beach, FL 33401 before Judge Robin L. Rosenberg.

On October 6, 2021, Jonathan Donohue pleaded guilty to 1 count of Computer Fraud.

On September 9, 2021, Jonathan Donohue was arraigned on a federal Information charging him Computer Fraud, in violation of federal law.  He appeared before Magistrate Judge William Matthewman in West Palm Beach, Florida and has been released on bond.  He has agreed to plea guilty to the charged crime on October 6, 2021.

As alleged in court documents, on between March 10, 2015 and June 22, 2017, the defendant knowingly attempted to cause the transmission of a program, information, code, and command, and as a result of such conduct, to intentionally cause damage without authorization to a protected computer.  In doing so, it is alleged that Donahue controlled two websites from which he sold Distributed Denial of Service (“DDOS”) attacks.  During the period from January 10, 2017 through June 22, 2017, Donohue launched 179,951 DDOS attacks against 78,214 unique IP addresses.

Scheduled Court Hearings          

All hearings will occur before United States District Robyn L. Rosenberg at the Paul G. Rogers Federal Courthouse located at:

701 Clematis Street,
West Palm Beach, FL 33401

Court proceedings may take place via Zoom; if you wish to attend via that method, please reach out to Victim Witness Specialist, Evelyn Cotto, at Evelyn.Cotto@usdoj.gov to request details.

Note:  Please check the Court’s updated protocol pertaining to COVID-19 for information on courthouse access and policies.  The Court’s updated COVID-19 guidance is available here:  https://www.flsd.uscourts.gov/

Victims Impacted

To confirm you are a victim in this case, please email U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Criminal Investigative Service at cybercrime@dodig.mil and provide 1) the IP address or URL that was the victim of the attack and 2) the date and time of attack. The government will then attempt to determine whether the IP address was a targeted victim of the DDOS service.  Anyone who contacts you will have access to the information that you previously submitted.  If the IP address is confirmed, a victim impact statement can be submitted as indicated below.

If you have been confirmed to be a victim harmed by the defendant’s criminal actions described above, you may then submit a statement to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for consideration at sentencing.  An example of the format for such a statement can be located here:  Victim Impact Statement.  Please include your full name, contact information, and documentation of any monetary loss that you suffered.  Victim initials will be used in all public filings to protect victim privacy.  Please send all statements to the following address before November 1, 2021:

U.S. Attorney’s Office 

Attn: Evelyn Cotto

Victim Witness Specialist

500 E. Broward Blvd., Ste. 700

Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33394

Or email them to:  evelyn.cotto@usdoj.gov

Statements received after November 1, 2021 may not be part of the materials transmitted to the Court in advance of the sentencing hearings.

Court Documents

Victim Information

Pursuant to the Crime Victims’ Rights Act, 18 U.S.C. § 3771, the Department of Justice is required to provide notice to individuals who may have been harmed as a direct result of the criminal offenses of which a defendant has been convicted. In this context, “harmed” is defined broadly and is not limited to monetary loss. This office uses the Victim Notification System (“VNS”) and other methods, including web pages and press releases, to ensure potential victims receive timely notice of public events related to a case. For more information, go to https://www.justice.gov/usao/resources/crime-victims-rights-ombudsman/victims-rights-act

A different federal law, the Mandatory Victim Restitution Act (“MVRA”), 18 U.S.C. § 3663A, governs restitution in this case. Restitution is a determination by the judge that a victim is entitled to monetary compensation for losses suffered as a direct result of a crime for which a defendant has been convicted. It is not a guarantee of payment. Under the MVRA, if a defendant is convicted of a crime carrying restitution as a penalty, the judge at sentencing determines who is a victim and in what amount they are entitled to restitution. In cases involving property crimes, including the fraud offenses with which the defendants are charged, restitution may generally only be awarded for the value of the property lost by the victim as a direct result of a defendant’s crime of conviction less the value of any property returned to the victim. Victims may also be entitled to restitution for expenses incurred while participating in the criminal investigation or prosecution or traveling to court proceedings for the case, such as lost income, childcare, transportation, and other expenses. Restitution is generally not available for medical care, pain and suffering, emotional distress, or lost income caused by the defendant’s conduct, except in the limited context described above.