'Anonymous' Hackers Plead Guilty To PayPal Cyberattack

13 defendants who pled guilty include Christopher Wayne Cooper, aka “Anthrophobic,” of Elberta, Ala.; Joshua John Covelli, aka “Absolem,” and, “Toxic,” of Fairborn, Ohio; Keith Wilson Downey of Jacksonville, Fla.; Mercedes Renee Haefer, aka “No,” and “MMMM,” of Las Vegas; Donald Husband, aka “Ananon,” of Fairfield, Calif.; Vincent Charles Kershaw, aka “Trivette,” “Triv,” and “Reaper,” of FortCollins, Colo.; Ethan Miles of Flagstaff, Ariz.; James C. Murphy of Baldwin Park, Calif.; Drew Alan Phillips, aka “Drew010,” of Santa Rosa, Calif.; Jeffrey Puglisi, aka “Jeffer,” “Jefferp,” and “Ji,” of Clinton
Township, Mich.; Daniel Sullivan of Camarillo, Calif.; Tracy Ann Valenzuela of Napa, Calif.; and Christopher Quang Vo of Attleboro, Mass.The defendants initially pled not guilty to their 2011 indictment on charges of conspiracy to commit intentional damage to a protected computer and aiding and abetting intentional damage to a protected computer.With the exception of Valenzuela, Phillips and Miles, each of the defendants pled guilty to one count of conspiracy and one count of intentional damage to a protected computer. Valenzuela pled guilty to one count of reckless damage to a protected computer, while Phillips and Mileswere allowed to plead guilty only to one count each of intentional damage to a protected computer.

Additionally, Covelli pled guilty to executing a DDoS attack — with another defendant who is currently a fugitive — against the Santa Cruz County server, admitting that it was in retaliation for a statute enacted by the city of Santa Cruz that laid out certain restrictions for camping within the city, prosecutors said. Under the terms of the plea agreements for all the defendants, prosecutors plan to drop the felony conspiracy charge, leaving only the misdemeanor charge of intentional damage to a protected computer,
as long as the defendants fall in line with their plea deals. The defendants are currently released on bond and will be sentenced in late 2014. Collins is represented by Peter Alan Leeming. Cooper is represented by Wm. Michael Whelan Jr. Covelli is represented by Thomas J. Nolan Jr. of Nolan Armstrong & Barton LLP. Downey is represented by John M. Hamasaki of the Law Office of John Hamasaki and Suzanne M. Morris of Morris & Giacinti LLP. Haefer is represented by Stanley L. Cohen of Stanley Cohen & Associates and Randolph Elliott Daar. Husband is represented by Ean Vizzi. Kershaw is represented by Omar C. Figueroa of Law Offices of Omar Figueroa. Miles is represented by Graham E. Archer. Murphy is represented by Robert E. Carey Jr. of Carey & Carey. Phillips is represented by George C. Boisseau. Puglisi is represented by John David Lueck of John D Lueck Inc. APC. Sullivan is represented by Michelle Dee Spencer. Valenzuela is represented by James M. Thompson and Nancy A. Thompson. Vo is represented by Alexis W. Briggs and Gregory Mackean Bentley.
The case was prosecuted by assistant U.S. attorneys Matt Parrella and Hanley Chew.
The case is USA v. Collins et al., case number 5:11-cr-00471, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern
District of California.
–Editing by Richard McVay.