Man Sentenced to 40 Months in Prison for Contempt of Court After Sending Racial Slurs and Threats

MIAMI – On Dec. 19, a federal judge in Miami sentenced Matthew James Choy to 40 months in prison for contempt of court after he sent racial slurs and violent threats using the courts’ Case Management/ Electronic Case Files (CME/ECF) system.

This sentence follows Choy’s guilty plea to a charge of criminal contempt, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 401(1). Choy had previously been convicted of sending graphic, profane, and excessive threats over the internet to identifiable victims, and was serving a term of imprisonment for that crime when he committed the instant offense.

According to the court record, from in or around April 15, 2022 and continuing through on or about November 20, 2022, Choy knowingly transmitted a number of handwritten pro se letters and motions, intending that they be filed on the CME/ECF system, and the handwritten pro se letters and motions contained racial slurs, profanity, and statements such as “I give up, as long as I get to see the blood spray out of [victim 1’s] neck when I get out, I’ll consider it even,” and “F--- all of you!” in court numbers 21-10848 (11th Cir. 2022), and 20-20165-CR-CMA (S.D. Fla).

The receipt of the filings obstructed the administration of justice by disrupting the business of and making work for the Clerk’s Office and the Court, in that court staff was forced to receive, review, and act on the filings.  Choy knowingly filed the documents and letters for the purpose of disrupting the proceedings.

Chief U.S. District Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga also sentenced Choy to serve three years of supervised release following his prison term, and imposed several special conditions, including an association restriction, restricting Choy from associating with victims, and Court staff and personnel, among others. 

U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida and Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of the FBI, Miami Field Office, announced the sentencing.

The FBI Miami Field Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lindsey Lazopoulos Friedman and Brooke Watson prosecuted the case.  Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 20-cr-21065.

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