Gotcha: Volunteer Firefighter Sentenced for Making Hoax Bomb Threat
May 23, 2018
It’s an FBI case that shows why fake threats can result in real consequences. Making false threats is not a joke. Think before you post.
Audio Transcript
Mollie Halpern: It’s an FBI case that shows why fake threats can result in real consequences.
Using a friend’s phone and a text application, a volunteer firefighter in South Carolina …
Matt Desmond: … devised a scheme where he sent out anonymous text messages to people he didn’t know with a story that there had been a bomb placed at the Dorn Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Columbia.
Halpern: That was case agent Matt Desmond, who says at least three people received the texts and notified the FBI or local police.
After three hours of searching, no bomb was found.
Desmond began working with tech companies to investigate who sent the texts.
Desmond: We served subpoenas on them for information regarding that account.
Halpern: The investigation revealed volunteer firefighter Karry Max Taylor was responsible for the hoax bomb threat.
Taylor confessed he had hoped his station would be called for a real emergency while main crews were busy responding to his threat.
In April 2017, he was sentenced to one year and a day in prison and ordered to pay restitution.
I’m Mollie Halpern of the FBI with Gotcha, featuring the Bureau’s closed cases.
Audio Download
Recent Audio
- 12.07.2018 — FBI, This Week: High School Class Collaborates with FBI Profilers
- 11.30.2018 — FBI, This Week: The Visiting Scientist Program
- 11.28.2018 — Wanted by the FBI: Iranians Indicted for SamSam Ransomware Hacking and Extortion Scheme
- 11.27.2018 — Elder Fraud Telemarketing Scam Call Recording
- 11.21.2018 — FBI, This Week: Tribal Engagement Program Increases Participants