Case 3:18-cr-04683-GPC Document 316-2 Filed 12/10/21 PageID.4106 Page 1 of 4
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`Exhibit 2
`Declaration of AUSA Melanie Pierson
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`Case 3:18-cr-04683-GPC Document 316-2 Filed 12/10/21 PageID.4107 Page 2 of 4
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`RANDY S. GROSSMAN
`Acting United States Attorney
`MELANIE K. PIERSON
`Assistant U.S. Attorney
`California State Bar Nos. 112520
`Federal Office Building
`880 Front Street, Room 6293
`San Diego, California 92101-8893
`Telephone: (619) 546-7976
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`Attorneys for Plaintiff
`United States of America
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`UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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`SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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`UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
`Case No. 18-cr-4683-GPC
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`DECLARATION OF ASSISTANT U.S.
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`Plaintiff,
`ATTORNEY MELANIE K. PIERSON
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`REGARDING THE REVIEW OF THE CHS
`v.
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`FILE
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`JACOB BYCHAK et. al.,
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`Defendants.
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`I, Melanie K. Pierson, hereby submit the following declaration in
`response to the court’s request for information regarding the source
`of information from Spamhaus (SS). I state under penalty of perjury
`that:
`1.
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`I have been employed an Assistant United States Attorney in
`the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District
`of California since 1987. I am one of the prosecutors
`assigned to the investigation and prosecution of Jacob
`Bychak, Mark Manoogian, Mohammed Abdul Qayyum and Petr Pacas
`in Criminal Case No, 18cr-4683-GPC. That case is currently
`set for trial in May of 2022.
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`Case 3:18-cr-04683-GPC Document 316-2 Filed 12/10/21 PageID.4108 Page 3 of 4
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`2.
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`3.
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`4.
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`On November 18, 2021, the court held a hearing on the
`defendants’ motions for reconsideration of the denial of the
`motion for disclosure of the identity of SS. During that
`hearing, the court requested that the government review the
`CHS file of SS, and inquire regarding any other internal FBI
`files regarding the activities of SS in this case.
`On November 30, 2021, I visited the FBI offices in San Diego
`and reviewed the electronic file of CHS No. S-00091118, which
`was created by another FBI field office in October of 2018.
`I reviewed every page of this electronic file. The file
`contained no mention of any activities of SS in conjunction
`with the San Diego office of the FBI, no mention of any of
`the individual defendants and no mention of the netblocks at
`issue in this case. The file contained two documents that
`named Company A, among many other companies, as involved in
`spamming. Redacted versions of these two documents were
`thereafter produced to the defense as discovery.
`The file indicated that the CHS was not expected to testify
`but was acting as a source of information regarding spam and
`spammers. The file indicated that beginning in October of
`2018, the CHS was annually given four admonishments,
`including one indicating that the CHS was providing
`voluntarily providing truthful information and could take no
`independent action without direction from the FBI. The file
`indicated that there were no payments to the CHS and no
`issues with truthfulness.
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`Case 3:18-cr-04683-GPC Document 316-2 Filed 12/10/21 PageID.4109 Page 4 of 4
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`5.
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`DATED:
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`I asked Special Agent Chabalko if there were any internal
`FBI documents regarding his contacts with SS, other than
`those which had already been provided to the prosecutors.
`Agent Chabalko advised that no separate file exists regarding
`SS in the San Diego Field Office of the FBI. He told me he
`reviewed his available case review updates provided to his
`supervisors. Case review updates older than the last five
`years are no longer available. Special Agent Chabalko advised
`that only two of the case review updates mentioned Spamhaus,
`which he provided to me for review. The file reviews that
`mention Spamhaus cover the period from March 25, 2017 to June
`30, 2017, and for the period from October 1, 2017 to December
`31, 2017. Those reports indicated that Chabalko had received
`information and documents from Spamhaus. The identity of the
`documents were not specified and there was no substantive
`discussion of the nature of the information provided by
`Spamhaus in the case review updates. Special Agent Chabalko
`stated that he was aware of no other internal FBI documents
`mentioning his contacts with SS that have not been provided
`to prosecutors.
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`December 10, 2021
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`MELANIE K. PIERSON
`Assistant U.S. Attorney
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