Hell hath no fury like an ex-con scorned.
47-year-old Frederick Banks had a bone to pick with the FBI agent who busted him more than a decade ago. So he did what any upset, tech-saavy ex-con out for revenge would do: He posted a fake M4M Craigslist ad looking gay sex then included the agent’s home phone number and address.
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The agent’s named is not being released. Court documents identify him only by his initials, T.P., and indicate that he lives in Tampa, FL. 12 years ago, he investigated Banks on two different cases — a 2003 charge for selling fake and pirated software, and a 2004 charge of writing bad checks. Banks was convicted and spent about 10 years behind bars.
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Apparently, he spent that entire decade stewing because the fake ad was allegedly posted on June 25, less than a month after Banks completed his final term of federal probation. It identified the T.P. as a “married white boy” seeking a male sex partner for himself and his wife, who he describes as a “blonde gorgeous girl next door type.”
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“All races welcome can play anytime,” the ad said.
As a result, T.P. claims to have received two phone calls in response.
It didn’t take the FBI long to track the fake ad back to Banks, who was living in Pittsburgh. He has been charged with stalking and harassing an FBI agent.
This week, U.S. Magistrate Judge Keith Pesto ordered he be jailed until trial.
“I find defendant is a serious threat to the safety of T.P., and family, and potentially others with whom the defendant has legal disputes,” Pesto wrote.
Neither Banks nor his attorney have released comment.
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h/t: Star Tribune
Ron Loftus
so has it changed your attitude dude
ProfessorMoriarty
I hope the judge throws the book at this @$$h0le. What a creep.
George McSwain Jr
Still waiting for bankers and Wall Street types to go to jail for wrecking our economy. If your have money, esp other people’s money. You get out of jail free.
hyhybt
Harassment, sure, but since when is looking up someone’s address and phone number “stalking?”
Justin John Ronald Walker
What an idiot. Commits a crime, but has a boo hoo about it. Dickhead
Will Moor
What an idiot. He was finally free and he threw it all away.
Topher Levín
I’m calling bullshit. Anyone worth their salt would use a VPN USB with no logs on a public connection with CL accounts set up with temp email systems and encrypt their devices and it would be untraceable. They’re wholly basing it on circumstantial evidence of it occurring when he was released. I’d get back at someone too for making me a slave for 10 years for victimless crimes like copying software and writing a bad check. That loser probably has hundreds of people who want revenge on him. Hope the guy wins.
youarekiddingme
@Topher Levín: I’m guessing that anything that can be encrypted as you say can probably be deciphered (unencrypted)…Alan Touring (WWII gay scientist)? I’m sure the FBI figured this guy out and traced the ad right back to him…nothing circumstantial. I’m not computer savy though (not afraid to admit it) so maybe the guy was like a majority of people (being he was locked away for 10 years) and wasn’t aware of the methods you suggest to protect himself?
Getting back at somebody for crimes YOU committed…childish. He was convicted of crimes that were more than “writing a bad check”. For the FBI to get involved (vs local PD), he had to be doing it on an interstate level with probably hundreds or thousands of checks and god knows how much money involved. Perhaps Identity Theft as well (not convicted I know…could have been pled down). Victimless hardly.
Copying software, again to get the FBI involved was a large-scale operation. Over 10 years ago there were still independent software writers out there getting paid for their stuff. He was taking money out of their pockets. Again, hardly victimless.