31-year-old Massachusetts man cyberstalks and threatens FBI agent and family via Kik and Telegram apps leading to 20-year prison sentence risk

Summary

A 31-year-old man from Holyoke, Massachusetts, known online as “slimybanana,” admitted to cyberstalking and harassing an FBI agent and their family in South Carolina. Scott Tardy pleaded guilty to federal charges including cyberstalking, providing false statements to the FBI, and obstruction of justice. Prosecutors stated Tardy used the Kik messaging app under the username “connecticut12345” to post violent messages targeting the FBI agent and their spouse. He shared the victims’ location information and discussed violent acts, including throwing a Molotov cocktail into their home and having them “tortured for days.” Tardy later moved the conversation to the Telegram app, where he continued making violent threats. FBI agents executed a search warrant at Tardy’s home in February and found evidence linking him to the threats, despite his initial denials and attempts to delete data. Tardy faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.