WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - A Wichita lawyer has admitted to paying a software engineer who launched cyberattacks on websites that criticized the attorney’s work.

Court filings show 63-year-old Bradley A. Pistotnik pleaded guilty Tuesday to three counts of being an accessory after the fact to online extortion threats. He was immediately sentenced to pay a $375,000 fine and $55,200 in restitution as agreed in a plea deal with the government that spares him from prison.

His co-defendant, VIRAL Artificial Intelligence co-founder David Dorsett , has a change-of-plea hearing set for Monday.

Federal prosecutors allege they are responsible for cyberattacks on Leagle.com, Ripoffreport.com and JaburgWilk.com in 2014 and 2015. The indictment accuses Dorsett of filling website inboxes with threats. An email purportedly demanded that a webpage be removed or the hackers will target advertisers.

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