FBI agents arrested a Southern California man Tuesday on chargesthat he was a disgruntled shareholder who threatened to harm anAlameda company's executives if they didn't release positive news toinflate the stock's price.
Agents say 41-year-old Jonathan Henry Wiegman of Diamond Bar sentthousands of threatening e-mails to more than a dozen employees ofUTStarcom Inc., a network and telecommunications equipment supplier,starting in August. He also made threatening postings to a Yahoofinance message board regarding the company, according to an agent'saffidavit.
The affidavit says Wiegman sent these menacing messages,containing references to "death," "bullits" and other threateninglanguage, because he was a UTStarcom shareholder who was seeking toinduce the company to release positive news to buoy its stock price.The company's stock has fallen from about $38 per share to about $7in the past year.
UTStarcom responded by increasing security at its headquarters,including hiring a security guard, issuing its workers electronicaccess cards and remodeling its lobby to limit access to its backoffices.
Wiegman is charged with violating a federal law against sendingthreats of physical harm across state lines; the Internet's globalnature brings e-mails and message-board postings under this law'sreach.
Wiegman, who if convicted faces up to five years in federal prisonand a fine of up to $250,000 plus restitution, was scheduled toappear Tuesday afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Margaret Nagelof Los Angeles.
Contact Josh Richman at jrichman@angnewspapers.com.
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