Federal authorities in Los Angeles have dismissed a criminal complaint (PDF) filed last August against four men accused of performing distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks for hire.

The defendants were originally accused of carrying out attacks on behalf of Jay Echouafni, a Massachusetts businessman who sold satellite TV gear via his website. At an August 26, 2004 press conference, Attorney General John Ashcroft said the attacks cost the victims, who were competitors of Echouafni, over $2 million in lost revenue and mitigation efforts.

Media reports last summer referred to Echouafni and his henchmen as the “DDoS mafia.” … His attorney, Richard Cline, declined to comment on the case. Kirch said he recently spoke with Ashley, and he believes Ashley is remorseful and hopes to arrange a plea agreement with prosecutors.

Source: Brian McWilliams, O’Reilly Network