Bitcoin receipts: Lincoln County Sherrif's Dept.

Kevin Collier filed this request with the Lincoln County Sheriff's Department of Lincoln County, ME.
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From: Kevin Collier

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Maine Freedom of Access Act ("FOAA"), I hereby request the following records:

All receipts for a purchase of bitcoin and all invoices for any outside consultant hired to provide advice or assistance in purchasing bitcoin. As detailed in the Booth Bay Register, the Lincoln County Sheriff's Department needed to purchase bitcoin in order to pay its ransomware attackers: http://www.boothbayregister.com/article/sheriff-s-office-prepared-after-bitcoin-ransom/51070.

I also request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as we believe this request is in the public interest, as suggested but not stipulated by 1 M.R.S.A. ยง 408(6). The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, processed by a representative of the news media/press and is made in the process of news gathering and not for commercial usage.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 10 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Kevin Collier

From: Ken Mason

To whom it may concern,

Attached to this e-mail is a fax I received from Kevin Collier regarding us (Lincoln County Sheriff's Office) purchasing bitcoins for ransomware attackers. Kevin got this information from reading the Boothbay Register. So you are aware, our agency DID NOT purchase bitcoins to pay ransom. What is printed by the press is not always accurate.

Major Ken Mason, Chief Deputy
Lincoln County Sheriff's Office

From: Kevin Collier

Thanks for your earlier response, Major. This new story in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette quotes Sheriff Brackett and details how his IT provider used a county credit card to pay a bitcoin ransom. Is this newspaper also not accurate?

http://www.post-gazette.com/business/tech-news/2016/12/08/Law-enforcement-agencies-are-dealing-with-malware-and-ransom-demands/stories/201612080027

Thanks,
Kevin

From: Muckrock Staff

To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following request, copied below. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.

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