Massachusetts Man Pleads Guilty to Cyberstalking South Carolina Federal Agent and Family

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Scott Robert Tardy, 31, of Holyoke, Massachusetts, has pleaded guilty to cyberstalking, providing false statements to the FBI, and obstruction of justice in a scheme that targeted a South Carolina federal law enforcement agent and his family.

According to evidence presented in court, in February, Tardy operated an account with the username “connecticut12345” on the Kik social media platform in which he joined an anti-law enforcement chatgroup. In that group, Tardy posted numerous messages discussing and soliciting violence against a specific agent and the agent’s spouse. 

In those messages, Tardy repeatedly identified the victims’ employment affiliation as a reason to target them. He also shared photographs of the agent’s spouse and the city and state in which they live. Tardy discussed violence against the agent and the agent’s family, including throwing a Molotov cocktail in their bedroom while they were sleeping. He asked for the conversation to be moved to the Telegram platform, where he operated the username “slimybanana,” because he believed it was more secure. 

On the second platform, Tardy discussed what a cartel would do to the victims, he discussed having one of the victims “ruined,” “destroyed,” and “tortured for days.”  He said burning the house was “good enough” if the victim was inside. Tardy then shared the location of the victims’ home by sharing a map with a pin drop on the victims’ street, and asked another user how long it would take them to get there.

When the FBI executed a federal search warrant at Tardy’s apartment on Feb. 16, he falsely denied ever using Kik or Telegram and he denied responsibility for the solicitations and messages. He gave further false statements in an interview with investigators, and he caused the phone he used to be reset, clearing its content, and exchanged with Apple for a new phone. 

Despite that, investigators recovered the map of the victims’ home with the pin drop on it from an account associated with Tardy. Data related to the Kik and Telegram accounts showed that Tardy controlled the accounts. During the scheme, Tardy worked as a corrections officer at a detention facility in Connecticut.

Tardy faces a penalty of up to 20 years in prison. He also faces a fine of up to $250,000 and five years of supervision by the U.S. Probation Office to follow a term of imprisonment.

United States District Judge Joseph F. Anderson, Jr. accepted Tardy’s guilty plea and will sentence the defendant after receiving and reviewing a sentencing report prepared by the U.S. Probation Office. 

The case was investigated by the FBI Columbia field office with critical assistance from FBI Boston field office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elliott B. Daniels and Elle E. Klein are prosecuting the case.