SYRACUSE, NY—Paul Raymond Ross, 59, of Endwell, new York, pled guilty today in United States District Court before the Honorable Thomas J. McAvoy to interstate stalking of a former witness against him in a previous federal prosecution—announced United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian. In 2008, Ross pled guilty to making extortionate demands for $20,000 from a victim who has been identified publically by the initials K.O.D. The victim in that previous case provided assistance to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, including by producing copies of threatening communication received from the defendant. As a result of his plea in that earlier case, Ross was sentenced to 27 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Upon completion of his sentence, Ross immediately began to stalk KOD electronically. That is, Ross began to send out thousands of electronic messages to the victim’s clients, her employees, the media, and, via the mail, to the victim in any effort to harass, injure, and cause her severe emotional distress and financial damage. Ross posted threatening photographs and made false statements about her.
On October 31, 2013, Ross was indicted by a federal grand jury for retaliation against a witness and interstate stalking. He is being held in pretrial detention. His guilty plea today subjects him to a maximum possible penalty of five years in jail, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release. Sentencing has been set for June 4, 2014 at 9:30 a.m. in Binghamton, New York.
This matter was investigated by special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig A. Benedict, who may be reached at 315-448-0672 with questions about the case.
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