FBI raids include Baldwin

The Federal Bureau of Investigations executed more than 35 search warrants across the U.S. last week, in the wake of cyber attacks against major companies. Among the homes raided was one in Baldwin: Approximately a dozen agents arrived at the residence in question on the morning of July 19 and searched for computers and other electronic accessories.

FBI agents raided another house close to Jordan’s — a home on Carley Court in Merrick, Special Agent Jim Margolin of the FBI’s New York field office confirmed. Margolin said that the raids were part of the nationwide computer-hacking investigation, and that while evidence had been seized from both homes — at least one laptop was removed from Jordan’s home — no arrests had been made.

FBI agents executed more than 35 search warrants on July 19, and 14 people were arrested in Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Florida, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Mexico and Ohio. The arrested individuals were charged with intentionally causing damage to protected computers. No one from New York was taken into custody.

According to the FBI, the defendants are part of a computer-hacking group called “Anonymous.” Last December, the group allegedly executed a “denial-of-service” attack against PayPal, an online business site that allows payments and money transfers to be made over the Internet.

In a denial-of-service attack, a website is flooded with emails so that the system becomes overwhelmed, thereby denying service to users. The defendants conspired with others to damage protected computers at PayPal from Dec. 6 to Dec. 10, officials said.

An FBI release stated that the group, which is sympathetic to WikiLeaks — an international organization that publishes classified government documents — attacked PayPal as retribution after the site suspended WikiLeaks’ accounts so that it could no longer receive donations via PayPal.

Margolin would not say how the two area homes were involved in the hacking investigation, but said, “If we do a search pursuant to a search warrant, evidence has been presented to the satisfaction of a judge that there is probable cause to believe there is evidence at that location.” He added that although no arrests had been made at the Long Island homes, they might be carried out in the future. “We often do searches without making an arrest,” he said. “And then the evidence gathered in the search may subsequently be used as probable cause to make an arrest.”

According to the FBI, more than 75 searches have taken place in the U.S. as part of the ongoing investigations into the hacking attacks. The charge of intentional damage to a protected computer carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Each count of conspiracy carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

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