A former staff member who worked in an office of a United States Senator was sentenced today to two years of supervised probation with 200 hours of community service for burglary of the office of a U.S. Senator.

           The announcement was made by Alessio D. Evangelista, the Acting U.S. Attorney in this case, and Steven A. Sund, Chief of the U.S. Capitol Police.

           Samantha DeForest Davis, 24, of Beloit, Wisconsin, pled guilty to the federal charge of aiding and abetting computer fraud, and to the District of Columbia charge of attempted tampering with evidence on July 30, 2019. DeForest Davis was sentenced today on two separate counts to a total of 180 days in prison, execution of sentence suspended, and placed on two years of supervised  probation. As part of her conditions of probation, she was ordered to perform 200 hours of community service, stay away from the Senator’s office to include current and former staff, and to not use TOR or anonymized computer applications.

           According to the government’s evidence, DeForest Davis was a staffer employed by a U.S. Senator, and was also friends with Jackson Cosko, a former staffer for that same U.S. Senator who had been fired in May 2018.  Between July and October 2018, Cosko began burglarizing the Senator’s office, illegally accessing Senate computers, and stealing information from those computers. By August 2018, DeForest Davis started to suspect that Cosko was breaking into the Senator’s office and stealing information from Senate computers, but DeForest Davis did not report Cosko.  Finally, on the night of October 2, 2018, DeForest Davis agreed to lend Cosko her keys to the Senator’s office. When she provided her keys, DeForest Davis understood that Cosko needed the keys to unlawfully enter the Senator’s office to access Senate computers.

           Cosko used DeForest Davis’s keys to break into the Senator’s office that night, and during the break-in, Cosko illegally accessed a Senate computer for the purpose of obtaining information.  However, during the break-in, a witness noticed and recognized Cosko in the office. Cosko fled, but the witness reported the break-in to U.S. Capitol Police.

           The following morning, on October 3, 2018, Cosko returned DeForest Davis’s keys and asked DeForest Davis to “wipe down” the computers, keyboards, and computer mice in the Senator’s office, in the hope that DeForest Davis could thereby destroy any latent fingerprints and other evidence of Cosko’s burglary. DeForest Davis, knowing that Cosko had unlawfully entered the office the night before, did attempt to wipe down the computers, but was unsuccessful because another employee entered the office early.

           As part of her plea, DeForest Davis acknowledged that she lied to her employer and the U.S. Capitol Police on several occasions during the investigation.

           Cosko pled guilty to his role in the criminal activity on April 5, 2019.  On June 27, 2019, he was sentenced by Judge Thomas F. Hogan to 48 months in prison.

           In announcing the sentence, Acting U.S. Attorney Evangelista and Chief Sund commended the work of those who worked on the case. The U.S. Capitol Police investigated the case. They also acknowledged the efforts of those who handled the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialists Diane Brashears and Donna Galindo and Victim/Witness Advocate Yvonne Bryant and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tejpal S. Chawla, Demian S. Ahn, and Youli Lee who prosecuted the case.

           WASHINGTON – Jackson A. Cosko, 27, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to four years in prison for stealing Senate information and posting illegal restricted information of five U.S. Senators on the Wikipedia website.

           The announcement was made by Alessio Evangelista, the Acting U.S. Attorney in this case, and Steven A. Sund, Chief of the U.S. Capitol Police.

           Cosko, a former staff member of a United States Senator, pled guilty in April 2019, to five federal offenses: two counts of making public personal information; one count of computer fraud; one count of witness tampering, and one count of obstruction of justice, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. In addition to his sentence term, Cosko had to forfeit computers, cellphones, and other equipment used in the crimes, which was part of his plea agreement. He was sentenced by the Honorable Senior District Judge Thomas F. Hogan.

           According to the government’s evidence, the U.S. Capitol Police began an investigation on Sept. 27, 2018, after it was determined that the Wikipedia pages of three U.S. Senators had been edited to include restricted personal information without their knowledge or permission. This information included home addresses and personal telephone numbers. These edits took place roughly contemporaneously with public – and highly publicized – Senate proceedings related to a nomination for the U.S. Supreme Court. On Oct. 1, 2018, similar information was posted on the Wikipedia pages of two additional Senators.

           “Doxxing” is the act of gathering, by licit and illicit means, and posting on the Internet personal identifying information (“PII”) and other sensitive information about an individual.

           Cosko admitted that he was angry about his termination in May 2018 from his employment as a computer systems administrator in the office of another U.S. Senator (described in court documents as Senator #1). As a result, from July 2018 to October 2018, he engaged in an extensive computer fraud and data theft scheme. Cosko admitted that he carried out the scheme by breaking into Senator # 1’s office on at least four occasions and accessing Senate-owned computers for the express purpose of stealing proprietary electronic information, including the personal contact information for numerous other Senators. He then published the contact information for five U.S. Senators (identified as Senators #2, 3, 4, 5, and 6) using Wikipedia and Twitter, with the intent to threaten and intimidate these five Senators and their families.  

           On the night of Oct. 2, 2018, according to the affidavit, a witness saw Cosko at a computer in Senator # 1’s office. The witness confronted Cosko, who left the office. Later that evening, according to the statement of offense, Cosko sent a threatening e-mail to the witness, titling it, “I own EVERYTHING” and warning that, “If you tell anyone I will leak it all.” Additionally, that evening Cosko attempted to delete electronic evidence from items including a laptop computer that he used to obtain and download the stolen data.

           This case was investigated by the U.S. Capitol Police. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Demian S. Ahn, Tejpal S. Chawla, and Youli Lee. Assistance was provided by Paralegal Specialists Diane Brashears and Matthew Ruggierio and Victim/Witness Advocate Yvonne Bryant, all of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

            WASHINGTON – A former staff member who worked in an office of a United States Senator pled guilty today to federal charges stemming from his theft of Senate information and the illegal posting of restricted personal information of five U.S. Senators on the Wikipedia website, as well as related conduct.

            The announcement was made by Alessio D. Evangelista, the Acting U.S. Attorney in this case, and Matthew R. Verderosa, Chief of the U.S. Capitol Police.

            Jackson A. Cosko, 27, of Washington, D.C., pled guilty to five federal offenses: two counts of making public restricted personal information; one count of computer fraud; one count of witness tampering, and one count of obstruction of justice. Under federal sentencing guidelines, which are to be calculated at a later date, Cosko could face a prison term within the range of either 30 to 37 months or 46 to 57 months. The plea agreement requires Cosko to forfeit computers, cellphones and other equipment used in the crimes. The Honorable Senior Judge Thomas F. Hogan scheduled sentencing for June 13, 2019.

            According to the government’s evidence, the U.S. Capitol Police began an investigation on Sept. 27, 2018, after it was determined that the Wikipedia pages of three U.S. Senators had been edited to include restricted personal information without their knowledge or permission. This information included home addresses and personal telephone numbers. These edits took place roughly contemporaneously with public – and highly publicized – Senate proceedings related to a nomination for the U.S. Supreme Court. Then, on Oct. 1, 2018, similar information was posted on the Wikipedia pages of two additional Senators.

            “Doxxing” is the act of gathering, by licit and illicit means, and posting on the Internet personal identifying information (“PII”) and other sensitive information about an individual.

            In a statement of offense submitted as part of today’s plea, Cosko admitted that he had been angry about his termination in May 2018 from his employment as a computer systems administrator in the office of another U.S. Senator (described in court documents as Senator #1). As a result, beginning no later than July 2018 and continuing until October 2018, he engaged in an extensive computer fraud and data theft scheme. He admitted that he carried out the scheme by breaking into Senator # 1’s office on at least four occasions and accessing Senate-owned computers for the express purpose of stealing proprietary electronic information, including the personal contact information for numerous other Senators. He then published the contact information for five U.S. Senators (identified as Senators #2, 3, 4, 5, and 6) using Wikipedia and Twitter, with the intent to threaten and intimidate these five Senators and their families.  

            On the night of Oct. 2, 2018, according to the evidence, a witness saw Cosko at a computer in Senator # 1’s office. The witness confronted Cosko, who left the office. Later that evening, according to the statement of offense, Cosko sent a threatening e-mail to the witness, titling it, “I own EVERYTHING” and warning that, “If you tell anyone I will leak it all.” Additionally, that evening Cosko attempted to delete electronic evidence from items including a laptop computer that he used to obtain and download the stolen data.

            An investigation led to Cosko’s arrest the following day by the U.S. Capitol Police.

            This case was investigated by the U.S. Capitol Police. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Demian S. Ahn, Tejpal S. Chawla, and Youli Lee. Assistance was provided by Paralegal Specialists Diane Brashears and Matthew Ruggierio and Victim/Witness Advocate Yvonne Bryant, all of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

            WASHINGTON – A volunteer on the staff of a member of the U.S. House of Representatives made his first court appearance today on charges stemming from the illegal posting of restricted personal information of five U.S. Senators on the Wikipedia website, as well as related conduct.

            The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jessie K. Liu and Matthew R. Verderosa, Chief of the U.S. Capitol Police.

            Jackson A. Cosko, 27, of Washington, D.C., was arrested on Oct. 3, 2018 by the U.S. Capitol Police. He is charged in a criminal complaint with five federal offenses: making public restricted personal information; making threats in interstate commerce; unauthorized access of a government computer; identity theft; and witness tampering. The complaint also charges him with second-degree burglary and unlawful entry, both District of Columbia offenses.

            Cosko appeared this afternoon before Magistrate Judge Deborah A. Robinson in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The judge ordered that Cosko remain detained pending a hearing set for Oct. 9, 2018.

            According to the affidavit in support of the complaint, the U.S. Capitol Police began an investigation on Sept. 27, 2018, after it was determined that the Wikipedia pages of three U.S. Senators had been edited to include restricted personal information without their knowledge or permission. This information included home addresses and personal telephone numbers. These edits took place roughly contemporaneously with public – and highly publicized – Senate proceedings related to a nomination for the U.S. Supreme Court.

            Then, on Oct. 1, 2018, according to the affidavit, similar information was posted on the Wikipedia pages of two additional Senators.

             “Doxxing” is the act of gathering, by licit and illicit means, and posting on the Internet personal identifying information (“PII”) and other sensitive information about an individual.

            On the night of Oct. 2, 2018, according to the affidavit, a witness saw Cosko at a computer in the office of a U.S. Senator who had once employed him. The witness confronted Cosko, who left the office. An investigation led to Cosko’s arrest by the U.S. Capitol Police.

            The charges in criminal complaints are merely allegations and every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

            The statutory maximums for the crimes are as follows:

            Federal Offenses:

            Making public restricted personal information – five years.

            Threats in interstate commerce – two years.

            Unauthorized access of a government computer – one year.

            Identity theft – five years.

            Witness tampering – 20 years.

            District of Columbia Offenses:

            Second-degree burglary – 15 years.

            Unlawful Entry – Six months.

            The maximum statutory federal sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes.  If convicted of any federal offense, a sentence will be determined by the court based on the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

            The investigation into this matter is being conducted by the U.S. Capitol Police. The case is being prosecuted by the Cyber Crime and National Security Sections of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.