A US man has been arrested for a cyberstalking and harassment campaign that at one point included threats against himself.
Police believe that 53-year-old Jon Hart of Colorado carried out a months-long stalking effort against his former girlfriend and her new partner.
It is alleged that Hart, who was living in Hawaii at the time, spent three months from May to August of 2022 targeting, harassing, and threatening the couple whose names are being withheld by police. Additionally, Hart is accused of stalking and harassing another of the woman's former partners.
Police believe that the heartbroken Hart spent the summer of 2022 trying to pit his three targets against one another, not only threatening them but also going after their employers and even making false police reports.
He faces three counts of cyberstalking and obstruction of justice. If convicted he could receive up to a 35 year prison term.
It is said that Hart's efforts to harass and threaten his targets went far beyond a few unwanted messages. In his three-month campaign Hart was alleged to have imitated the three people as well as contact their employers and even local and federal law enforcement, filing false reports of threats.
Things would get so bad that the case ended up in the hands of the FBI, who were finally able to figure out what was going on and arrest and charge Hart in Colorado.
As investigators started to close in on Hart, it is alleged that he went so far as to use the fake accounts to make it look as if he was also being targeted by the cyberstalker in an effort to cover his tracks.
When that didn't work, Hart, who at that point had moved from Hawaii to Colorado, is accused of trying to destroy the evidence of his activity by removing his accounts.
"Hart allegedly falsely reported to Jane Doe 1, John Doe 1’s employer, local law enforcement, federal law enforcement, and the family courts that John Doe 1 was responsible for the conduct and posed a genuine and serious threat to Hart and others," the Department of Justice said.
"Hart then allegedly deleted one of his personal e-mail accounts two days after being interviewed by federal investigators."
The Justice Department did not say when Hart could stand trial in criminal court.
