Former Insider Gets 32 Months in Prison Over 20 Bitcoin Ransom Demand

TLDR

• Daniel Rhyne, 59, of Kansas City, Missouri, was sentenced to 32 months in federal prison.
• He worked as a core infrastructure engineer at an industrial company based in New Jersey.
• In November 2023, he set up tasks to delete admin accounts, change passwords and shut down servers.
• He demanded about 20 bitcoin, then worth roughly $750,000, to stop the attack.
• Judge Michael A. Shipp imposed the sentence on September 28, 2026, in Trenton federal court.

A former employee of a New Jersey industrial company has been sentenced to prison for attacking his employer’s computer network. He also demanded a bitcoin ransom from the company’s staff.

Daniel Rhyne, 59, of Kansas City, Missouri, received a sentence of 32 months in federal prison. U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer of the District of New Jersey announced the sentence on October 5, 2026.

Rhyne had previously pleaded guilty to a two-count Information. The charges were extortion in relation to a threat to cause damage to a protected computer and intentional damage to a protected computer.

How the Bitcoin Extortion Scheme Worked

Rhyne worked as a core infrastructure engineer at a U.S.-based industrial company headquartered in New Jersey. Court documents refer to the company as Victim-1, and its name was not made public. At the time, Rhyne lived in New Jersey.

In November 2023, Rhyne began carrying out a plan to attack the company’s computer network. According to court filings, he started remote desktop sessions that he was not authorized to use.

He then scheduled tasks designed to damage the network. These tasks included deleting network administrator accounts and changing the passwords on other company accounts.

The scheduled tasks were also set to shut down several of the company’s servers. These steps were part of his preparation for the attack.

On November 25, 2023, Rhyne sent an email to employees of the company. In the email, he threatened to keep shutting down company servers until he was paid.

He demanded about 20 bitcoin. At the time, that amount was worth roughly $750,000, or about $37,500 per bitcoin. The release did not say whether any ransom was paid.

Guilty Plea and Sentencing in Federal Court

Rhyne entered his guilty plea before U.S. District Judge Michael A. Shipp. The same judge handled the sentencing.

Judge Shipp imposed the 32-month prison sentence on September 28, 2026. The hearing took place in federal court in Trenton, New Jersey.

The case was brought by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey. Rhyne is now a resident of Kansas City, Missouri.

The investigation was led by special agents of the FBI’s Newark Field Office. That office is under the direction of Stefanie Roddy.

Frazer also thanked the FBI’s Kansas City Field Office for its help with the case. That office is led by Special Agent in Charge Chris Ormerod.

The sentence was announced on October 5, 2026, one week after the hearing in Trenton. Rhyne will serve 32 months in prison for the network attack and the bitcoin ransom demand.

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