Patrick McGovern-Allen

September 4, 2022

Violence-as-a-Service: Brickings, Firebombings & Shootings for Hire

This post was originally published on this siteA 21-year-old New Jersey man has been arrested and charged with stalking in connection with a federal investigation into groups of cybercriminals who are settling scores by hiring people to carry out physical attacks on their rivals. Prosecutors say the defendant recently participated in several of these schemes — including firing a handgun into a Pennsylvania home and torching a residence in another part of the state with a Molotov Cocktail. Patrick McGovern-Allen of Egg Harbor Township, N.J. was arrested on Aug. 12 on a warrant from the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation. […]
September 16, 2022

Botched Crypto Mugging Lands Three U.K. Men in Jail

This post was originally published on this siteThree men in the United Kingdom were arrested this month for attempting to assault a local man and steal his virtual currencies. The incident is the latest example of how certain cybercriminal communities are increasingly turning to physical violence to settle scores and disputes. Shortly after 11 p.m. on September 6, a resident in the Spalding Common area in the district of Lincolnshire, U.K. phoned police to say three men were acting suspiciously, and had jumped a nearby fence. “The three men made off in a VW Golf and were shortly stopped nearby,” […]
October 23, 2023

NJ Man Hired Online to Firebomb, Shoot at Homes Gets 13 Years in Prison

This post was originally published on this siteA 22-year-old New Jersey man has been sentenced to more than 13 years in prison for participating in a firebombing and a shooting at homes in Pennsylvania last year. Patrick McGovern-Allen was the subject of a Sept. 4, 2022 story here about the emergence of “violence-as-a-service” offerings, where random people from the Internet hire themselves out to perform a variety of local, physical attacks, including firebombing a home, “bricking” windows, slashing tires, or performing a drive-by shooting at someone’s residence. McGovern-Allen, of Egg Harbor Township, N.J., was arrested Aug. 12, 2022 on an […]