Former Computer Privacy Consultant Convicted of Cyberstalking

Cyberstalking Campaign Threatened Police, Prosecutors, and Other Victims 

A federal jury convicted a former privacy consultant for a cyberstalking campaign in which he sent electronic messages and made social media posts threatening sexual assault and other violence against multiple victims.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Sumit Garg, 34, of Seattle, engaged in an extensive campaign of threats and sexually explicit messaging and posts about a woman who used to share an apartment with Garg’s spouse. Using personal information Garg accessed after he moved into the apartment with his spouse, Garg threatened and tormented the former roommate in violation of a court order. Garg also used his computer skills to threaten multiple people in the former roommate’s life, including her uncle, who represented her in obtaining a civil protection order; her current boyfriend; the Seattle police detective who investigated the threats; and the deputy prosecuting attorney in King County, Washington, who filed charges against Garg for his illegal stalking conduct. Garg used his computer skills to try to conceal who was sending the threats or making the posts. 

The jury convicted Garg of one count of conspiracy to engage in cyberstalking, three counts of cyberstalking in violation of a criminal order, and two counts of cyberstalking. He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 25 and faces a mandatory minimum of three years in prison and a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman for the Western District of Washington; and Special Agent in Charge Glen Peterson of the U.S. Secret Service Seattle Field Office made the announcement.

The U.S. Secret Service investigated the case, with assistance from the Seattle Police Department.