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Justin Gray Liverman, who used the online name “D3F4ULT,” pleaded guilty in January 2017 to conspiracy offenses tied to unauthorized computer intrusions, identity theft and telephone harassment, according to contemporaneous reporting. The case involved alleged attacks on senior U.S. officials’ personal accounts and government systems; the Justice Department’s earlier account of the activity was an arrest-stage set of allegations, not a finding of guilt.
Who pleaded guilty, and what did he admit?
SecurityWeek reported on January 9, 2017, that Liverman had entered a plea agreement admitting conspiracy to commit unauthorized computer intrusions, identity theft and telephone harassment. He was known online as “D3F4ULT.” The report described him as a member of a group calling itself Crackas With Attitude (CWA). SecurityWeek’s January 9, 2017 report is the source for the plea details.
The plea report is procedurally distinct from the Justice Department’s September 2016 announcement of Liverman’s arrest. At that earlier stage, the DOJ summarized a criminal complaint and described alleged conduct. The department stated: “A criminal complaint contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.” The DOJ announcement identifies its account as allegations at the complaint stage.
Whose accounts and systems were targeted?
SecurityWeek named CIA Director John Brennan and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper among the officials targeted. It also reported that CWA targeted senior figures in the FBI, Department of Homeland Security, the White House and other federal agencies. The DOJ’s arrest announcement described alleged access to senior officials’ personal accounts, accounts belonging to family members, and several U.S. government computer systems.
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These were different kinds of targets: personal accounts and family accounts were not the same as government systems. The available accounts establish that both categories were part of the case, but do not provide a complete inventory of every account or system.
How did the group allegedly gain access?
In its September 2016 announcement, the DOJ said CWA members allegedly used social engineering, including impersonating victims, to obtain access. The department placed the alleged activity at approximately October 2015 through February 2016. This is the government’s description of the alleged method in the arrest announcement; the sources cited here do not establish a technical account of each intrusion.
SecurityWeek’s plea coverage reported that Liverman leaked documents and personal information obtained from a victim’s account, sent threatening text messages and used a service that repeatedly called targets. The account of these actions comes from the contemporaneous plea report, rather than the DOJ’s earlier arrest-stage description.
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What happened, and when?
| Date or period | Case development |
|---|---|
| About October 2015–February 2016 | The DOJ later said CWA’s alleged activity occurred during this period. DOJ, September 8, 2016. |
| September 8, 2016 | The DOJ announced the arrests of Andrew Otto Boggs and Liverman on charges related to alleged roles in hacking senior U.S. government officials and government computer systems. The announcement summarized allegations in a criminal complaint. |
| January 9, 2017 | SecurityWeek reported Liverman’s guilty plea and said his sentencing hearing was scheduled for May 12. SecurityWeek, January 9, 2017. |
What sentence did Liverman receive?
The available reporting establishes a scheduled sentencing hearing, not its outcome. SecurityWeek said Liverman faced up to five years in prison at the time of its January 2017 report. That was the reported maximum exposure, not confirmation that he received a five-year sentence. The sources cited here do not establish his eventual sentence or the complete final terms of his plea agreement.
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