Privacy expert put away for 9 years after 'grotesque' cyberstalking campaign
- Reference: 1720693747
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2024/07/11/cyberstalker_jailed/
- Source link:
Sumit Garg, 33, of Seattle, was indicted
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in March 2021 and has been held in a US federal prison in Washington state. He was convicted in March this year of conspiracy to engage in cyberstalking, three counts of cyberstalking in violation of a criminal order, and three counts of cyberstalking.Garg's former roommate, identified as "victim 1" in court documents, received thousands of threatening emails, phone calls, texts, and social media messages in which Garg threatened to murder, torture, and rape her. She eventually obtained a civil protection order against Garg, which he ignored.
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Garg then targeted that victim's uncle - the attorney who represented her in obtaining the protection order - plus her boyfriend, a Seattle police detective who investigated the threats, and the deputy prosecuting attorney working on Garg's stalking case.
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At a sentencing hearing on Tuesday, US District Judge John Coughenour [5]told Garg's victims: "I can't give you the level of protection for the length of time that you deserve…I can't give you blanket protection for 30 to 40 years."
The case dates back to 2019 when Garg shared a two-bedroom apartment in Seattle with his wife and victim 1. While the three shared housing, Garg snuck into the victim's room, stole her diary, left his fingerprints on "multiple pages," and read private details about her previous relationships.
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Garg then started calling the roommate by a nickname Spicy, and sent her texts, emails, and online messages of a sexual nature, some referencing details from her diary.
In July 2019, the roommate reported the harassment to the police and sought a protective order against Garg, after which he and his wife tried to blame the victim and accused her of making false police reports, according to prosecutors.
Garg and the victim eventually reached a settlement agreement. The conditions of that deal included an agreement not to have direct or indirect contact with the victim.
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Garg instead escalated his campaign of abuse by establishing thousands of internet accounts for the sole purpose of stalking and harassing the victim. According to prosecutors, Garg used his computer skills to try to hide his identity as he was sending the threats and making posts.
One of these included an email sent to the victim with the subject line: "Don't be scared." It read, in part:
Spicy,
Do you really think a few days in jail was going to scare me?
Don't be scared. I won't kill you.
It is too easy and not nearly enough punishment for your crimes.
I have other ideas to take care of you.
Garg also snuck into the victim's apartment building in October 2020 after sending her a text that contained threats of sexual violence.
According to court documents
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:At 1911 hours, Victim-1 received an email from sumitgargied92[@]gmail.com with the subject "Hey babe", which had three photographs attached to it. The photographs were of the building's lobby fireplace, seating area, and a deli connected to the building. The Exchangeable Image File (EXIF) data for the photos indicate that the photos were taken by a Google Pixel 3a phone on October 10, 2020, on or about the time the man entered the lobby. Google records indicate that a Google Pixel 3a phone was associated with Garg's personal email account (SUBJECT ACCOUNT 4), and -- as discussed below -- SPD later seized a Google Pixel 3a phone (SUBJECT CELLPHONE 1) from Garg.
The apartment building's surveillance cameras caught Garg on video, in the lobby, at the same time the photos were taken.
On November 1, 2020, Garg was arrested and charged with one count of felony cyberstalking. He was also issued a no-contact order prohibiting Garg from having any contact with the victim, her uncle, and her boyfriend.
[9]eBay to cough up $3M after cyber-stalking couple who dared criticize the souk
[10]Miscreants leak texts and info siphoned by Android stalkerware app LetMeSpy
[11]Cloudflare tries to explain why it protects far-right forums that stalk and harass victims
[12]Cancer patient forced to make terrible decision after Qilin attack on London hospitals
His victims – and there are overall more than just described here – did get a brief respite from Garg while he was in jail for about two weeks. "Notably, the harassing messages to many of the victims stopped up until the day before Garg was released from custody," according to the court documents.
However, when Garg was released on November 13, 2020, the threatening messages resumed, despite the perp being subject to electronic monitoring.
"While Garg appears to have delighted in his victims' suffering, he appears to be utterly incapable of empathizing with others," prosecutors [13]noted in their sentencing memo.
They continued: "With an apparently insatiable desire to even the score, Garg took a simple rent dispute between roommates, and escalated it into a massive cyberstalking campaign against an ever-growing number of victims, making grotesque and violent threats that are almost impossible to fathom." ®
If you or anyone you know needs help, the US [14]Center for Victims , the UK’s [15]Victim support resources list and Australia’s [16]Lifeline may be able to offer assistance.
Get our [17]Tech Resources
[1] https://regmedia.co.uk/2024/07/10/sumit_garg_indictment.pdf
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_security/cybercrime&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ZpABpY5EXf40dCEk81AhkQAAARU&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_security/cybercrime&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZpABpY5EXf40dCEk81AhkQAAARU&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_security/cybercrime&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZpABpY5EXf40dCEk81AhkQAAARU&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdwa/pr/pernicious-cyberstalker-sentenced-9-years-prison-unrelenting-harassment-former
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_security/cybercrime&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZpABpY5EXf40dCEk81AhkQAAARU&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_security/cybercrime&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZpABpY5EXf40dCEk81AhkQAAARU&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[8] https://regmedia.co.uk/2024/07/10/sumit_garg_complaint_march_2021.pdf
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2024/01/11/ebay_3m_penalty_stalking/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2023/06/27/letmespy_stalkerware_app_hacked/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2022/08/31/cloudflare_kiwi_farm/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2024/07/05/qilin_impacts_patient/
[13] https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdwa/pr/pernicious-cyberstalker-sentenced-9-years-prison-unrelenting-harassment-former
[14] https://www.centerforvictims.org
[15] https://www.copfs.gov.uk/services/victim-services/resources-for-victims/victim-support-organisations/
[16] https://www.lifeline.org.au/
[17] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: Why, oh why ?
This guy seems to have absolutely no life, absolutely no worries at all about being caught, and an incredibly delicate personality where everyone directly or indirectly involved seems to rub him up the wrong way to just such an extent that he targets them relentlessly
He is an absolute nutjob who is not safe to be in society, it only takes the idea of buying a gun to pop into his head and those things mentioned above are going to lead to the massacre of innocents
needs to be committed
Re: Why, oh why ?
...absolutely no worries at all about being caught, and an incredibly delicate personality where everyone directly or indirectly involved seems to rub him up the wrong way to just such an extent that he targets them relentlessly
Yes, I've heard about someone just like that who is currently running to be the next President of the United States.
Spoiler alert: It's not Joe Biden.
Re: Why, oh why ?
Some people are just sick in the head
"Maybe I am naive, but it is completely beyond me."
Naivete is not always a bad thing, and ignorance is bliss.
The Dark Triad
The dark triad is a psychological theory of personality, first published by Delroy L. Paulhus and Kevin M. Williams in 2002, that describes three notably offensive, but non-pathological personality types: Machiavellianism, sub-clinical narcissism, and sub-clinical psychopathy. Each of these personality types is called dark because each is considered to contain malevolent qualities.
All three dark triad traits are conceptually distinct although empirical evidence shows them to be overlapping. They are associated with a callous–manipulative interpersonal style.
• Narcissism is characterized by grandiosity, pride, egotism, and a lack of empathy.
• Machiavellianism is characterized by the manipulation and exploitation of others, indifference to morality, lack of empathy, and a calculated focus on self-interest.
• Psychopathy is characterized by continuous antisocial behavior, impulsivity, selfishness, callous and unemotional traits (CU), and remorselessness.
High scores in these traits have been found to statistically increase a person's likelihood to commit crimes, cause social distress, and create severe problems for organizations, especially if they are in leadership positions. They also tend to be less compassionate, agreeable, empathetic, and satisfied with their lives, and less likely to believe they and others are good.
[1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_triad
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_triad
Privacy Expert?
What he did was disgusting and should be punished for sure. But he doesn't seem convincing as a privacy expert.
What a thoroughly horrible cock womble.
He's got nothing to do in civilized society.
Send him to a desert island somewhere.
privacy expert?
he was using a pixel phone bound with a google account. deserves the punishment though.
Wife
I really hope his wife takes the opportunity to get out and change her name and location. She may still believe he is the victim of course, as I expect he created an alternate reality that they lived in. Does remind me a little bit of Nicholas Alahverdian, if a bit less creative/evil and I think his latest wife is still under the spell.
It took this much for action?
Look at the police the wrong way and they will shoot you, but it takes this extent of both grotesque cyberstalking and stupidity before any effective action was taken?
Re: It took this much for action?
While I'll concede that there are distinct law enforcement issues in the excited snakes, it was neither the extent nor the stupidity that got this pile of excrement prosecuted, but rather the fact that there was a *member* of the law enforcement community targeted by the activities in which the pile of excrement engaged. Otherwise, this would likely be a slap on the wrist and minor fine.
Re: It took this much for action?
"...Otherwise, this would likely be a slap on the wrist and minor fine..."
I call utter bullshit on that one.
A Simple Matter
Scum like this do not deserve jail time. The deserve a rope and a short drop.
Re: A Simple Matter
No - Those suffering mental illness deserve a chance of treatment.
What he did was ultimately a consequence of his not being treated so perhaps it's those with the libertarian view that nutjobs should be free to be nutjobs who deserve punishment?
Re: A Simple Matter
Meh.
Society-affirmed sense of impunity is not mental illness.
It is still a societal issue, as overprotection nurtures, cherishes and reinforces it, but it is not mental illness by any means.
Ref the untrained puppy discussion in Starship Troopers (the book).
“Man has no moral instinct. He is not born with moral sense. You were not born with it, I was not - and a puppy has none. We acquire moral sense, when we do, through training, experience, and hard sweat of the mind.”
Wow, just zero self-regulation. Harassing and threatening an attorney and a POLICE DETECTIVE and that detective's wife, and expecting that to go well for him?!
Why, oh why ?
Why would anyone want to do something like this. Maybe I am naive, but it is completely beyond me.