The past crimes of 19-year-old Edward Coristine, one of the most recognized members of the Government Efficiency Department led by billionaire businessman Elon Musk in the USA, have ignited controversy.

Supporting claims that Edward Coristine, one of the most prominent members of the advisory commission called the United States Government Efficiency Department (U.S. DOGE Service) aimed to drastically reduce the US government, was involved in stolen data trading in the past and harassed an FBI agent by a cybercrime gang. Coristine, whom Elon Musk praised, is one of the most striking names in the DOGE team. It is noted that the 19-year-old Coristine previously managed a company called DiamondCDN. According to corporate and digital records examined by Reuters and interviews with former colleagues, this company providing network services was established in 2022. Among Coristine’s company’s clients was a website operated by a cybercrime gang called “EGodly.” According to records from internet intelligence platforms DomainTools and Any.Run, the IP addresses of DiamondCDN and other organizations owned by Coristine were associated with EGodly’s website named “dataleak.fun.” On February 15, 2023, EGodly thanked DiamondCDN in a post on Telegram: “We thank DiamondCDN for being valuable partners and generously providing us with excellent DDoS protection and caching systems. Thanks to these systems, we can securely host and protect our site.” According to digital records examined by Reuters, between October 2022 and June 2023, EGodly’s website was protected by DiamondCDN’s security systems. According to officials from the US Department of State and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) who spoke to Reuters, Coristine is listed as a “senior advisor” in the personnel lists of both agencies. Coristine describes himself as a “Volunteer (Intern) Plumber” in the US government on his LinkedIn profile. However, the Department of State did not respond to Reuters’ questions on the matter, and CISA refused to comment.

EGodly’s Criminal Records

EGodly claimed in a 2023 post on their Telegram channel that they had obtained phone numbers, breached email accounts of law enforcement agencies in Latin America and Eastern Europe, and committed cryptocurrency theft. Additionally, they exposed the personal information of an FBI agent by claiming they were being investigated by the FBI. EGodly shared the FBI agent’s phone number, photos of his house, and other personal details on Telegram, and released an audio recording of an abusive prank call to the agent. EGodly also shared a video purportedly taken when passing by the agent’s home in Wilmington, Delaware. In the video, someone can be heard shouting, “EGodly, you are a loser!” from inside a car. Reuters verified the authenticity of the video of the FBI agent’s home by visiting the address in Wilmington and comparing the building with the images. A former FBI agent who spoke to Reuters pointed out that EGodly drew the attention of law enforcement agencies and was involved in “swatting” actions that led to police raids on targeted individuals. The FBI agent, who said, “These are dangerous people. They are not a pleasant group,” refrained from further comment. The FBI did not respond to Reuters’ questions. Reuters could not confirm how long Coristine’s DiamondCDN company worked with EGodly or if they received any payment from this collaboration. However, archived web pages of DiamondCDN state that the company provided services for both paid and unpaid users.

“A SERIOUS SECURITY RISK”

Former CISA Deputy Director Nitin Natarajan expressed concern that Coristine’s past connection to EGodly and his current wide access to US government networks pose a serious security risk. “These events are not too far in the past. It is a serious security risk for someone associated with an extremely dangerous group to currently have access to government systems.” These developments raise questions about the reliability of Elon Musk’s “DOGE Service” initiative, which he launched with claims to downsize government systems and initiate technological transformation.