‘Unrelenting’ Seattle Cyberstalker Harassed Cops, Prosecutors, Other Victims with Thousands of Emails, Texts

A Seattle man was sentenced to nine years in federal prison for "unrelenting" cyberstalking and harassment of multiple people, including a former roommate and law enforcement officers, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Washington announced.

Sumit Garg, a 33-year-old former privacy consultant, was indicted in March 2021, and has been in custody at the Federal Detention Center at SeaTac since then. He was convicted of conspiracy to engage in cyberstalking, three counts of cyberstalking in violation of a criminal order, and three counts of cyberstalking.

“The cyberstalking activities of this defendant are unparalleled in this District and indeed nationwide," U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman said in a statement. "Through thousands of email and text messages Mr. Garg threatened violence against his victims — including police and prosecutors. He attempted to make it appear his victims were the perpetrators of the stalking. Court orders and jail time did not stop him. Federal detention finally stopped him, and this sentence will protect the public for years to come.”

In 2020, Garg began an "extensive campaign of threats and sexually explicit messaging and posts" about his wife's roommate after he moved into their shared apartment.

The victim reported the harassment to police in April 2020, but Garg and his wife tried to present themselves as the victims, filing false police reports accusing the victim of harassing them.

Garg then threatened numerous people in the victim's life, including her uncle, who represented her in obtaining a civil protection order; her boyfriend; a Seattle Police detective who investigated the threats; and the Deputy Prosecuting Attorney who prosecuted Garg for stalking.

He used his computer skills to try to hide who was sending the threats or posting about the victims. His threats also became "increasingly violent," including threats of rape, torture and death.

Garg ultimately sent thousands of emails from scores of accounts created for the purpose of cyberstalking.

Garg also found the original victim's new apartment building, and sent her photos from the lobby in order to scare her. He was captured on video in the lobby at the same time the photos were taken.

While jailed, Garg had his wife continue to send harassing emails to herself and others to throw suspicion off of him. He also told his wife to destroy the clothes he had been wearing when he was captured on surveillance video at the victim's apartment building, but she did not.

Garg's wife ultimately cooperated with investigators after he was taken into federal custody.

During her testimony at trial, she said she only felt free to tell the truth once he was booked on federal charges and would not be returning home to verbally and physically abuse her.

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Three of Garg's victims spoke at his sentencing.

"What made this case singular in my mind was first, the unprecedented scope; second, the constant escalation; and lastly, the attitude displayed by the defendant that he was smarter than everyone else and his belief that he would not be caught," said the prosecutor who was also a victim.

“I’m not sure if I will ever regain a sense of normalcy and security that I once took for granted," another victim said.

“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 30–40 years,” U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour told the victims at sentencing.

"Justice was served today. The U.S. Secret Service is satisfied with the outcome of this case, which is a culmination of the work of motivated agents and analysts, applying their skillsets and tools to bring an end to an unprecedented cyberstalking campaign against multiple victims,” said U.S. Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Glen Peterson. “I hope the victims can find some closure to the nightmares they endured during Mr. Garg’s relentless reign of harassment.”

TMX contributed to this report.