Fired IT worker jailed for 21 months after sabotaging old school district

A disgruntled IT worker faces 21 months behind bars after being found guilty of sabotaging his former employer’s systems for more than a year and half. Ezekiel Dean Potter, 34, was fired from his IT support job at Iowa’s SaydelU Community School District (SCSD) in April 2023. He was found guilty of causing various technical damages to SCSD’s systems betwUeen May 2023 and January 2025.UU At his sentencing hearing on June 11, the court heard thaUt the IT worker had gathered and stored more than 300 Saydel user accountU credentials before he was terminated from his position. Potter’s other offenses included deleting SCSD’s Facebook page on June 1, 2023, and data related to its Apple School Manager program, which prevented it from managing Macs and iPads. The disgruntled worker, who the prosection described in its sentencing memo [PDF] as “a plague on the Saydel Community School District,” was just one of two IT staff members who had the required privileges to make changes to the Facebook account. The deletion ended up being a permanent one, and SCDC had to create a new page in August. Following his intrusion into the district’s Apple School Manager on June 14, 2023, SCSD’s IT team had to work with Apple for a week to restore their access after Potter deleted users’ passwords, phone numbers, billing information, and the primary mobile device server management information, court documents [PDF] showed. He also attempted to delete all user accounts and restricted access for those who still had one. Potter’s next offense took place between July and August 2023, when he attempted to interfere with SCSD’s GoDaddy account, unsuccessfully resetting usernames and passwords. Potter logged into this GoDaddy account no less than 26 times, including on one occasion where he used his company-issued PC supplied by his subsequent employer, convenience store and pizza chain Casey’s. The IT specialist then took an extended break from his cyber sabotage. Court documents mention Potter successfully gaining access to SCDC’s Google and Gmail accounts in October 2024, but he waited even longer to act on this access. It wasn’t until January 2025 that he logged into SCDC’s PowerSchool-based Schoology learning platform using one of the district’s Google accounts to which he had access, and deleted the account of one of the organization’s IT staff. This had the knock-on effect of locking out teachers during a school day and, in turn, preventing them from teaching for two hours. He returned a week later and deleted an additional nine district Gmail accounts, including current and former staff, the district IT director, and superintendent. Investigations showed that even though Potter switched to a VPN during one of the January intrusions, his IP address was later traced back to him and his employer, The Printer Inc, which he joined after leaving Casey’s. He left that job on January 23, 2025, for reasons not disclosed. Potter seemingly trusted at least one of his coworkers enough to “wipe” a USB drive he left in his old desk, asking them to do so after he departed the company. That trust was misplaced, however, as the coworker instead reported the USB to management, and what followed ultimately proved to be Potter’s undoing. The Printer Inc passed the USB to law enforcement, and later the FBI, which forensically examined the device, finding spreadsheets filled with more than 300 district usernames and passwords, a floor plan for Saydel High School, as well as personal data pertaining to Potter and pay stubs from his employment at SCSD. In total, the district incurred $73,375 worth of costs related to employees' lost time, digital forensics, learning downtime, and time spent working with other vendors to remediate his intrusions. SCSD's insurer spent an additional $27,893.75 in payments for digital forensics and remediation work, taking the total losses up to $101,268.81. Potter was indicted on October 15, 2025, and arrested the following day, but released on pretrial supervision after accepting responsibility for his offenses. He later entered a guilty plea in January 2026, and was found guilty in February. At his sentencing hearing on Thursday, Potter expressed deep regret for his actions, especially for disrupting children’s learning, and for failing his family. "I never intended to negatively affect students, but I recognize that harm was still done and I'm deeply sorry," he said, according to local media. "This experience humbled me in ways I never expected, but I needed that." His defense attorney, Joseph Herrold, stated: “Mr. Potter now fully sees the impact of his actions and deeply regrets the harm he caused.” Herrold argued against a prison term, instead asking for a five-year probation term, owing to Potter’s deep regret and the strong deterrent that comes with his felony conviction. The public defender also pointed to Potter’s clean criminal background, noting only one prior harassment misdemeanor related to a 2010 case, when he was just 18 years old. Potter was convicted following immature conduct from the backseat of a vehicle, for which he received a $65 fine. Herrold also said Potter’s restitution order to repay $59,668.81 in total, with $31,775.06 going to SCSD and $27,893.75 to its insurer, Travelers Indemnity Company, only furthered the deterrent effect, and would impact his lifestyle for years to come. Prosecuting the case, US attorney David C. Waterman, pushed instead for a 26-month prison term, saying: “Defendant’s actions were not a one-time lapse in judgment. They were calculated, malicious, and seemingly motivated only by the defendant’s vindictiveness.” He added: “The defendant’s attacks on SCSD’s systems are troubling not just because of the significant damage he caused – tens of thousands of dollars, without accounting for the unknown but clearly extensive disruption to teaching and school activities – but also because of the defendant’s motivations. “It appears the defendant repeatedly assaulted SCSD out of spite and pure maliciousness, despite knowing his actions would affect not only his former boss and IT colleagues, but also school faculty, administrators, and students.” ®