Channels

Photo: AFP
Suspect Michael Kadar
Photo: AFP

US authorities: Bomb threat suspect in Israel offered services on dark web

The Israeli teen who was arrested in March on suspicions of making dozens of bomb threats against Jewish US institutions was reportedly offering his services online, with at least one customer.

An Israeli teenager accused of a wave of bomb threats against dozens of Jewish community centers advertised his services on a now-shuttered online black market, offering to threaten any school for $30, according to US authorities.

 

 

Recently unsealed court documents suggest that Michael Kadar, 18, may have had at least one satisfied customer after posting on AlphaBay, the illicit "dark web" marketplace that the US Justice Department shut down in July.

 

Kadar (Photo: Motti Kimchi)
Kadar (Photo: Motti Kimchi)

Prosecutors said federal and local law enforcement in California have identified a co-conspirator after searching AlphaBay accounts and "intend to pursue criminal charges against that suspect."

 

Kadar, who is Jewish, was arrested in Israel in March and is awaiting trial there. US and Israeli authorities have charged him with making thousands of threats, including to airports, schools and Jewish centers in the United States.

 

Photo: Dana Koppel (Photo: Dana Koppel)
Photo: Dana Koppel

 

Israeli authorities previously accused him of earning about $240,000 worth of the digital currency Bitcoin after selling his threat services on the dark web.

 

The hoax threats to the Jewish community centers, which forced widespread evacuations earlier this year, prompted many centers to enhance security and raised fears of a resurgence in anti-Semitism.

 

Following Kadar's arrest, the FBI sought a warrant to search an AlphaBay account under the name "Darknet_Legend," which they connected to Kadar after examining his laptop, according to the unsealed court filings.

 

Photo: AFP (Photo: AFP)
Photo: AFP
 

 

Kadar's advertisement indicated he would frame someone else for any bomb threat he made for an additional $15 surcharge and said he would offer a full refund for "non-successful threats."

 

One user posted feedback for Darknet_Legend on March 9, writing, "Amazing on time and on target. We got evacuated and got the day cut short."

 

Federal agents said in court papers that the message came a day after Rancho Cotate High School in Rohnert Park, California, was evacuated due to an emailed bomb threat that was identical in wording to other threats linked to Kadar.

 

US law enforcement officials said in July they and international partners had closed down AlphaBay, a leading marketplace for drug and firearm trafficking, computer hacking tools and other illegal goods and services.

 

Attorney Shira Nir holding up an copied X-ray of Kadar's skull (Photo: Motti Kimchi) (Photo: Motti Kimchi)
Attorney Shira Nir holding up an copied X-ray of Kadar's skull (Photo: Motti Kimchi)

 

Kadar's parents have said he has a brain tumor that caused autism and other mental problems, making him unable to understand the nature of his actions.

 

The investigation previously led to one conviction. Juan Thompson, a disgraced journalist, pleaded guilty in June to making several threats to Jewish agencies while posing as an ex-girlfriend in an effort to harm her.

 


פרסום ראשון: 08.09.17, 18:02
 new comment
Warning:
This will delete your current comment