FARGO, N.D. (KFGO) – An Oakes, North Dakota man was arrested by the FBI and charged in federal court with five crimes involving computer fraud and abuse, extortion, and harassment.

50-year-old Thomas Dorsher, faces up to 32 years in prison and over $1 million in fines if convicted for his role in a conspiracy to make threats and launch computerized attacks on three Utah-based companies with the goal of overwhelming and disabling their servers.

The indictment claims Dorsher ran the criminal operation out of his basement in Oakes.

Dorsher called the charges against him “bogus” during his initial appearance at the federal courthouse in Fargo on Friday, December 2nd. He will remain in custody at least until Tuesday, December 6th when a detention hearing is scheduled.

In July, the FCC proposed an over $116 million fine against Dorsher in a related and complex robocall “traffic-pumping” scheme.