crimsonheadGCN
Banned
A 22-year-old Connecticut man who took part in bomb threats made against two Monmouth County schools last year was Tuesday sentenced to a year in prison.
The prison term for Matthew Tollis takes into account his role in the New Jersey "swatting" incidents as well as similar threats in Texas, Massachusetts and his home state, the U.S. Attorney's Office for Connecticut said in a news release.
In the Jan. 14, 2014 incident, a caller said there was a bomb inside St. John Vianney High School in Holmdel. After the school was evacuated and swept, authorities called the threat a hoax.
The following day, someone called in a similar threat to Allentown High School in Upper Freehold. Once again, a search revealed there was no bomb.
Tollis was part of a group consisting primarily of X-Box gamers who referred to themselves as "TCOD" (TeAM CrucifiX or Die).
http://www.nj.com/monmouth/index.ssf/2015/10/gamer_sent_to_prison_for_nj_swatting_incidents.html
According to court documents, Tollis was part of a group of Microsoft X-Box gamers who call themselves TCOD (TeAM CrucifiX or Die). They used Skype to make hoax threats about bombs, hostages and shootings, and Tollis was involved in at least six incidents, including one at UConn on April 3 that resulted in a campus-wide lockdown for three hours.
He also participated in a swatting call to the Boston Convention Exhibition Center, Boston University, two high schools in New Jersey and a high school in Texas.
In court, Tollis admitted to finding locations for TCOD members to “swat” and got the telephone numbers and other information to make the calls.
http://foxct.com/2015/10/06/uconn-swatter-sentenced-to-1-year-community-service/
I hope this dissuades people from doing these hoaxes, but I doubt it. We'll need more cases that ends in jail time.
EDIT: Changed the sources.
EDIT 2: Here is more about his group:
“Tollis explained that he began to look for ways to protect himself and his family from online abuse,” FBI investigators wrote in the federal affidavit obtained by ABC News. He told the FBI he joined a group of gamers who called themselves “TeAM Crucifix or Die” (TCOD) because “it would discourage others from bullying him.”
The group's membership allegedly includes gamers who live in the United Kingdom and use names like Verified, Jordy and Declaws, the affidavit states. Tollis used the name Hxrbor, according to the document.
Inside a SWAT Prank Ring Allegedly Composed of X-Box Gamers