Man who shut down schools and airlines in Australia with bomb hoaxes jailed in Israel

He caused chaos in Australia when his hoaxes shut down schools and redirected airlines. Now he’s been jailed, with authorities revealing the fortune he made for his criminal deeds.

An Israeli-American man has been sentenced to 10 years in jail for making 2000 hoax bomb threats including almost 600 directed at Australian schools and airlines that led to mass evacuations during exam time and multiple flight diversions.

Michael Ron David Kadar, now aged 20, dispatched his threats by phone and email between 2015 and 2017, offering secret clients through the “dark web” a service to make shooting or bombing threats for money.

During this time he made more than $250,000 of digital Bitcoin, the online currency favoured by criminals and terrorists, disseminating his threats globally and shutting down schools and malls, police stations and airlines and airports in the US, Australia, Britain, New Zealand, Norway and Denmark.

Kadar was charged with extortion, disseminating hoaxes in order to spread panic, computer hacking and money laundering. Picture: AFP

“As a result of 142 telephone calls to airports and airlines, in which he said bombs had been planted in passenger planes or they would come under attack, aircraft were forced to make emergency landings and fighter planes were scrambled,” authorities stated in court in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv.

He was specifically charged with extortion, disseminating hoaxes in order to spread panic, computer hacking and money laundering as well as threats to bomb shoot and kill mainly directed many of his threats as anti-Semitism to US Jewish groups based in New York and Florida and the Israeli embassy in Washington.

In Australia he directed 591 hoaxes predominantly to schools in Victoria, NSW, Queensland, Tasmania, South Australia and the ACT over consecutive days in February 2016 with the calls creating evacuations and disruptions.

Kadar’s calls also forced several airline flight diversions in Australia and New Zealand. He used technology to change his voice as he threatened to kill children.

He has been sentenced to 10 years jail. Picture: AFP

Victorian police E-Crime squad were the lead agency here and provided Israeli counterparts with critical evidence toward prosecution.

Kadar who is himself Jewish despite his apparent anti-Semitism-led threats was arrested in March 2017 at his southern Israeli home in Ashkelon.

It was from his bedroom he caused global mayhem, charging set prices for hoaxes for sale including a school for $7, a courthouse for $15 or a major convention or sports event $30.

His parents and his lawyer argued he had a brain tumour that causes autism and other mental problems, making him unable to understand the nature of his actions.

“True, the accused is recognised as autistic but he is highly intelligent and understands his actions full well,” the court said, adding that it would have sent him to jail for 17 years had he not had mental health issues.

Kadar made more than $250,000 of digital Bitcoin, the online currency favoured by criminals and terrorists. Picture: iStock

The court heard Kadar used emails to make threats “an act of terror was going to take place in their location.”

A hoax bomb call was made to Delta Airlines, forcing an emergency landing, and another against an El Al flight over Switzerland. Swiss and French warplanes were scrambled to escort the Israeli plane and prepare to shoot it down if it became clear it was going to crash into a Swiss city.

“The court recognised the damage and panic the defendant caused many people around the world with his actions,” Yoni Haddad of the state attorney’s cyber division said in a statement after the sentencing.

“The defendant committed his felonies with sophistication, using fake identities and with the aim of terrorising the public.”

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