Wichita lawyer Bradley Pistotnik indicted in alleged cyberattacks against critics

Wichita lawyer Bradley Pistotnik and a computer software engineer were charged Tuesday in a federal indictment alleging they were behind cyberattacks on websites posting information critical of the attorney’s work, U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister said.

Pistotnik, 62, and David Dorsett, 36, of Wichita, co-founder of a business called VIRAL Artificial Intelligence, have been charged with five counts of computer fraud and two counts of conspiracy, McAllister’s office said in a news release late Tuesday afternoon.

Pistotnik, known for his commercials in which he rides a bull while advertising that he is an accident attorney, also is charged with three counts of making false statements to the FBI, the statement said.

The alleged crimes occurred in 2014 and 2015, according to the indictment.

Pistotnik’s attorney, Steve Robison, gave this statement: “We have known about these allegations for more than two years. We responded and cooperated more than two years ago, and we shared the results of our investigation with the authorities over two years ago, in which we gave more information than frankly they had. ... We believed the matter had been concluded, and we are surprised to see these same allegations resurfacing. We denied the allegations then and now.”

Dorsett, the other man charged in the indictment, couldn’t be reached for comment.

The indictment says that Pistotnik and Dorsett are responsible for cyberattacks on Leagle.com, Ripoffreport.com and JaburgWilk.com. The indictment accuses Dorsett of filling website in-boxes with threats.

“One of the emails read: ‘Remove this page and we stop’ and ‘if you don’t remove it we will begin targeting your advertisers,’ ” the statement said.

According to the U.S. attorney’s statement, computer fraud carries a penalty of up to five years in prison and a fine up to $250,000 on each count. Conspiracy carries up to 10 years and a fine up to $250,000. Making false statements carries up to five years and a fine up to $250,000 on each count.

This story was originally published July 17, 2018 at 5:28 PM.