[Back to the takedown index](https://takedownindex.org/takedowns) [Operation PowerOFF](https://takedownindex.org/takedowns/operation-poweroff) # Operation PowerOFF December 2018 wave December 2018, [DDoS for hire](https://takedownindex.org/takedowns/categories/ddos-for-hire) Led by [Federal Bureau of Investigation](https://takedownindex.org/organizations/federal-bureau-of-investigation) Source linked. Verified August 23, 2026. What was taken down? 15 booter domains seized on 2018-12-19, among them critical-boot.com, ragebooter.com, downthem.org and quantumstress.net. The FBI had tested each service before the seizures and verified that the advertised DDoS capability worked.[[1]](#source-1)[[2]](#source-2)[[3]](#source-3)[[4]](#source-4) [See what happened](#what-happened) What happened to the people? Officials reported 3 charged. 3 charged named in the public record. Group accounted for: Partial [See people and accountability](#people) Did it stay down? Not established in the public record. No later activity is recorded against this entry. [See what happened afterward](#afterward) ## What happened The FBI seized the domains of 15 DDoS-for-hire services on 2018-12-19 under seizure warrants issued by the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, and prosecutors in Los Angeles and Anchorage charged three defendants who ran Downthem, Ampnode and Quantum Stresser. DOJ later described this as the first US law-enforcement action against booter services.[[1]](#source-1)[[2]](#source-2)[[3]](#source-3)[[4]](#source-4) Announced December 20, 2018. **Date:** December 2018 **Target:** 15 booter and stresser services, booter stresser services **Activity:** DDoS for hire **Operational lead:** FBI **Partners** DOJ, USAO-CDCA, and 4 more[[1]](#source-1)[[2]](#source-2) - [United States Department of Justice](https://takedownindex.org/organizations/united-states-department-of-justice), prosecuting - [United States Attorney's Office for the Central District of California](https://takedownindex.org/organizations/united-states-attorney-s-office-for-the-central-district-of-california), charging - [United States Attorney's Office for the District of Alaska](https://takedownindex.org/organizations/united-states-attorney-s-office-for-the-district-of-alaska), charging - [Defense Criminal Investigative Service](https://takedownindex.org/organizations/defense-criminal-investigative-service), supporting - [National Crime Agency](https://takedownindex.org/organizations/national-crime-agency), other - [National High Tech Crime Unit](https://takedownindex.org/organizations/national-high-tech-crime-unit), other **Jurisdiction:** United States, United Kingdom, and Netherlands **Outcome:** 15 booter domains seized on 2018-12-19, among them critical-boot.com, ragebooter.com, downthem.org and quantumstress.net. The FBI had tested each service before the seizures and verified that the advertised DDoS capability worked. **Status:** Completed **Legal mechanism:** Federal seizure warrants issued by the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California; criminal complaints filed in the Central District of California and the District of Alaska **Group accounted for:** Partial ### Infrastructure 15 domains seized. | Identifier | Recorded as | Status | Notes | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Not published | 15 domains | Seized, United States | 15 booter and stresser domains seized by the FBI on 2018-12-19 under seizure warrants issued by the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. DOJ named four of them: critical-boot.com, ragebooter.com, downthem.org and quantumstress.net.[[1]](#source-1) | Domains and onion addresses are shown defanged. Where the record gives a count but no identifier, the count is shown in place of one. This list carries only what appears in the cited sources. ## People and accountability Named in the public record: 3 charged. Figures count individuals named in charging documents and official statements, each person once per outcome. People alleged to be involved but not publicly identified are not counted. Reported and named. Officials reported 3 charged. 3 charged named in the public record. The two figures come from different places and are never added together. Officials publish a headline total, and this index counts only the individuals it can name from the cited record. #### David Bukoski Alleged operator of the Quantum Stresser booter service. Current public status: Charged. **Charging authority:** United States Attorney's Office for the District of Alaska **Main charges:** Aiding and abetting computer intrusions **Case number:** Not established in the public record **Arresting authority:** Not established in the public record **Arrest location:** Not established in the public record **Extradition status:** Not established in the public record **Conviction or plea:** Not established in the public record **Sentence:** Not established in the public record **Segment:** Segment not established **Sources:** [[1]](#source-1)[[2]](#source-2) **Full record:** [Everything indexed for David Bukoski](https://takedownindex.org/people/david-bukoski) #### Juan Martinez Alleged co-operator of the Downthem and Ampnode services. Current public status: Charged and Sentenced. **Charging authority:** United States Attorney's Office for the Central District of California **Main charges:** Conspiring to violate the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act; Unauthorized impairment of protected computers, damage affecting 10 or more protected computers during any 1-year period; aiding and abetting **Case number:** 2:19-cr-00036 **Arresting authority:** Not established in the public record **Arrest location:** Not established in the public record **Extradition status:** Not established in the public record **Conviction or plea:** Not established in the public record **Sentence:** Five years probation **Segment:** Segment not established **Sources:** [[1]](#source-1)[[3]](#source-3) **Full record:** [Everything indexed for Juan Martinez](https://takedownindex.org/people/juan-martinez) #### Matthew Gatrel Alleged operator of the Downthem DDoS-for-hire service and the Ampnode attack-infrastructure service. Current public status: Charged and Sentenced. **Charging authority:** United States Attorney's Office for the Central District of California **Main charges:** Conspiring to violate the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act; Conspiracy; Unauthorized impairment of protected computers, damage affecting 10 or more protected computers during any 1-year period; aiding and abetting **Case number:** 2:19-cr-00036 **Arresting authority:** Not established in the public record **Arrest location:** Not established in the public record **Extradition status:** Not established in the public record **Conviction or plea:** Not established in the public record **Sentence:** 24 months imprisonment on Counts 1 and 3, to run concurrently, followed by three years of supervised release **Segment:** Segment not established **Sources:** [[1]](#source-1)[[4]](#source-4) **Full record:** [Everything indexed for Matthew Gatrel](https://takedownindex.org/people/matthew-gatrel) Group accounted for: Partial Three defendants charged against 15 seized services, so most operators were not publicly accounted for. 15 independent services with separate operators. [See the organizations and roles behind this action](https://takedownindex.org/takedowns/operation-poweroff-december-2018-wave/organizations) ## What happened afterward Matthew Gatrel and Juan Martinez were prosecuted in United States v. Gatrel, No. 2:19-cr-00036-JAK (C.D. Cal.). Martinez was convicted on Count 3 and sentenced on 2021-12-09 to five years of probation; Gatrel was convicted on Counts 1 and 3 and sentenced on 2022-06-13 to 24 months in prison plus three years of supervised release. The outcome of the District of Alaska case against David Bukoski was not established from the sources located.[[1]](#source-1)[[2]](#source-2)[[3]](#source-3)[[4]](#source-4) Not established in the public record. No later activity is recorded against this entry. ## Court cases Court cases the audit located for this takedown. A case entry records a docket, not a summary of proceedings, and it establishes nothing about the guilt of anyone named in it. - [United States v. Gatrel](https://takedownindex.org/cases/united-states-v-gatrel). United States District Court for the Central District of California. Docket 2:19-cr-00036. Juan Martinez convicted on Count 3 and sentenced 2021-12-09 to five years probation, judgment entered 2021-... [Every court case in this index](https://takedownindex.org/cases). ## Sources Numbered markers throughout this entry link to the source that supports the claim beside them. ### What each part of this entry rests on The audit recorded which sources carry which part of the record. These are those sources. - Identity, dates and counts, [[1]](#source-1) [Criminal Charges Filed in Los Angeles and Alaska in Conjunction with Seizures Of 15 Websites Offering DDoS-For-Hire Services](https://takedownindex.org/sources/united-states-department-of-justice-criminal-charges-filed-in-los-angeles-and-al) , [[2]](#source-2) [Criminal Charges Filed in Alaska in Conjunction with the Seizure of Websites Offering DDoS-For-Hire Services](https://takedownindex.org/sources/united-states-attorney-s-office-for-the-district-of-alaska-criminal-charges-file) - Agencies and roles, [[1]](#source-1) [Criminal Charges Filed in Los Angeles and Alaska in Conjunction with Seizures Of 15 Websites Offering DDoS-For-Hire Services](https://takedownindex.org/sources/united-states-department-of-justice-criminal-charges-filed-in-los-angeles-and-al) , [[2]](#source-2) [Criminal Charges Filed in Alaska in Conjunction with the Seizure of Websites Offering DDoS-For-Hire Services](https://takedownindex.org/sources/united-states-attorney-s-office-for-the-district-of-alaska-criminal-charges-file) - People and actions, [[1]](#source-1) [Criminal Charges Filed in Los Angeles and Alaska in Conjunction with Seizures Of 15 Websites Offering DDoS-For-Hire Services](https://takedownindex.org/sources/united-states-department-of-justice-criminal-charges-filed-in-los-angeles-and-al) , [[2]](#source-2) [Criminal Charges Filed in Alaska in Conjunction with the Seizure of Websites Offering DDoS-For-Hire Services](https://takedownindex.org/sources/united-states-attorney-s-office-for-the-district-of-alaska-criminal-charges-file) , [[4]](#source-4) [Judgment and Probation/Commitment Order as to Matthew Gatrel, United States v. Gatrel, No. 2:19-cr-00036-JAK (C.D. Cal.), Dkt. 315](https://takedownindex.org/sources/united-states-district-court-for-the-central-district-of-california-judgment-and) , [[3]](#source-3) [Judgment and Probation/Commitment Order as to Juan Martinez, United States v. Gatrel, No. 2:19-cr-00036-JAK (C.D. Cal.), Dkt. 266](https://takedownindex.org/sources/united-states-district-court-for-the-central-district-of-california-judgment-a-2) - Cases and status, [[4]](#source-4) [Judgment and Probation/Commitment Order as to Matthew Gatrel, United States v. Gatrel, No. 2:19-cr-00036-JAK (C.D. Cal.), Dkt. 315](https://takedownindex.org/sources/united-states-district-court-for-the-central-district-of-california-judgment-and) , [[3]](#source-3) [Judgment and Probation/Commitment Order as to Juan Martinez, United States v. Gatrel, No. 2:19-cr-00036-JAK (C.D. Cal.), Dkt. 266](https://takedownindex.org/sources/united-states-district-court-for-the-central-district-of-california-judgment-a-2) ### Official sources 1. [Criminal Charges Filed in Los Angeles and Alaska in Conjunction with Seizures Of 15 Websites Offering DDoS-For-Hire Services](https://takedownindex.org/sources/united-states-department-of-justice-criminal-charges-filed-in-los-angeles-and-al) United States Department of Justice, December 20, 2018, Source grade P1 Supporting detail not recorded. [Open source](https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/criminal-charges-filed-los-angeles-and-alaska-conjunction-seizures-15-websites-offering-ddos) 2. [Criminal Charges Filed in Alaska in Conjunction with the Seizure of Websites Offering DDoS-For-Hire Services](https://takedownindex.org/sources/united-states-attorney-s-office-for-the-district-of-alaska-criminal-charges-file) United States Attorney's Office for the District of Alaska, December 20, 2018, Source grade P1 Supporting detail not recorded. [Open source](https://www.justice.gov/usao-ak/pr/criminal-charges-filed-alaska-conjunction-seizure-websites-offering-ddos-hire-services) 3. [Judgment and Probation/Commitment Order as to Juan Martinez, United States v. Gatrel, No. 2:19-cr-00036-JAK (C.D. Cal.), Dkt. 266](https://takedownindex.org/sources/united-states-district-court-for-the-central-district-of-california-judgment-a-2) United States District Court for the Central District of California, December 13, 2021, Source grade P0 Supporting detail not recorded. [Open source](https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cacd.734709/gov.uscourts.cacd.734709.266.0.pdf) 4. [Judgment and Probation/Commitment Order as to Matthew Gatrel, United States v. Gatrel, No. 2:19-cr-00036-JAK (C.D. Cal.), Dkt. 315](https://takedownindex.org/sources/united-states-district-court-for-the-central-district-of-california-judgment-and) United States District Court for the Central District of California, June 13, 2022, Source grade P0 Supporting detail not recorded. [Open source](https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cacd.734708/gov.uscourts.cacd.734708.315.0.pdf) Coverage note. - The December 2018 DOJ release does not itself use the name Operation PowerOFF. The May 2023 DOJ release, which states that its own action was taken in conjunction with Operation PowerOFF, describes the late-2018 action as the first law-enforcement action in the same series: 'In the first law enforcement action targeting booters in late 2018, the Justice Department charged three defendants who facilitated DDoS-for hire services and seized 15 internet domains'. The parent link rests on that. - This is the wave the corpus's own coverage-gap note about a 'PowerOFF 2019' US wave was really referring to; no 2019 US wave was found in the DOJ press-release index. - reported\_convicted\_count left null: no authority published an aggregate conviction figure for this wave. The two convictions are carried as person\_actions sourced to the court judgments. - DOJ credited assistance from the U.S. Attorney's Offices for the Eastern and Middle Districts of Pennsylvania, the Western District of Tennessee and the Northern District of Illinois, and from the National Cyber-Forensics and Training Alliance. Those bodies have no organization ids in this corpus and no role rows were invented for them. - resurgence\_class left null: the A-G scale is undefined in this dataset and was not guessed. Research context ## How this entry was checked Source linked Every claim in this entry traces to a source the audit opened and read. Nothing on the record needed changing. Verified: August 23, 2026 Sources cited: 4 Research cutoff: August 23, 2026 Limitations recorded against this entry - No Europol or other international release for this specific wave was located; the UK NCA and Dutch NHTCU contributions are recorded only from the DOJ text. - The disposition of United States v. Bukoski (D. Alaska) is unverified; no DOJ release or RECAP docket for it was found. - Only four of the 15 seized domains were named by DOJ, so the infrastructure row carries the aggregate count and the four named domains in its notes. See also [About the Internet Takedown Index](https://takedownindex.org/about) Related entries - [3ve ad-fraud botnet disruption](https://takedownindex.org/takedowns/3ve-ad-fraud-botnet-disruption) - [Operation Trojan Shield](https://takedownindex.org/takedowns/operation-trojan-shield) - [Wall Street Market / Silkkitie (Valhalla) shutdown](https://takedownindex.org/takedowns/wall-street-market-silkkitie-valhalla-shutdown) Report updates or corrections Help keep this record accurate. [Submit feedback](https://takedownindex.org/about/corrections-and-updates)