Endicott Man Indicted for Mailing a Letter Falsely Accusing a Defense Contractor of Being a Foreign Intelligence Officer

SYRACUSE, NY—United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Albany Special Agent in Charge Andrew W. Vale announced today the arrest of Ryan Letcher, age 38, of Endicott, New York. Letcher was indicted by a federal grand jury of one count of knowingly and willfully making a false statement in violation of 18 U.S.C. §1001(a)(3).

The indictment alleges that in March 2012, Letcher mailed a letter to the Department of Defense (DOD) claiming that a DOD contractor was a foreign intelligence officer, when Letcher knew that was not true. This charge carries a statutory maximum term of imprisonment of five years; supervised release of up to three years; a maximum fine of $250,000; and a special assessment of $100.

"The act of intentionally making false statements in order to harm others will not be tolerated. Making such fictitious, fraudulent statements can have a devastating impact on the victims and the community. The FBI will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to ensure this type malicious behavior is investigated and prosecuted," said Andrew W. Vale.

The case was investigated by the FBI and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Tamara Thomson.

The charge contained in the indictment is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.