DES MOINES, Iowa — A Des Moines man was sentenced to 21 months in prison for hacking into his former employer’s computer systems and disrupting school operations for more than a year.
Ezekiel Dean Potter, 34, was fired from his job in the IT department at Saydel Community School District in April 2023. Before he left, Potter downloaded more than 300 usernames and passwords for district accounts and programs, according to court documents.
Federal prosecutors say Potter used those stolen credentials over the next year and a half to break into various district online accounts and disrupt operations. The attacks started in June 2023 when Potter took down one of the district’s social media pages.
After that, Potter tried to revoke district employee access to critical systems and delete district accounts and information. When he succeeded, it caused districtwide technology outages and forced district employees to spend significant time fixing the problems.
Potter’s attacks peaked in January 2025 when he targeted district applications and forced the school to suspend classes for multiple hours. Court records show Potter carried out many of the attacks from the offices of his later employers.
At one of those jobs, Potter left behind a USB drive containing hundreds of district usernames and passwords along with other sensitive district information. After realizing he left the drive, Potter tried to get a former coworker to “wipe” it.
“Ezekiel Potter’s theft and malicious use of sensitive data to target his former employer resulted in significant disruptions to school operations,” said Eugene Kowel, special agent in charge of the FBI Omaha Field Office. “Whether it’s a large corporation or a school district here in the heartland, the FBI and our partners will use every investigative method to bring to justice criminals like Potter who weaponize privileged access to computer systems to harm victims and commit fraud.”
Potter was also sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $59,668.81 in restitution to the Saydel Community School District and its insurer. The FBI and the Polk County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case.
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