Summary
Alan Filion, 18, of Lancaster, California, pleaded guilty to four counts of making interstate threats in one of the most prolific “swatting” cases ever prosecuted.
Filion made over 375 swatting and threat calls from August 2022 to January 2023, targeting schools, religious institutions, government officials, and FBI agents.
Prosecutors say he turned swatting into a business, advertising his services on social media for profit.
His hoaxes, which included bomb and mass shooting threats, caused widespread fear and chaos. Filion faces up to 20 years in prison.
Wow, that article was basically a cut and paste of the DOJ release, neither of which said why he was only charged with four counts if he’s done it over 300 times. Thanks, NBC! 🙄
My guess is that he is only being charged with provable swats after he was 18, greatly reducing the counts.
Just speculating here, but if a few additional counts aren’t likely to add significant time to his sentence, they might also be saving some for later in case they lose or the case gets thrown out for some reason.
Or when convicted of these… he gets sent to the next state where his did it to stand trial there. He’s probably also in for a significant amount of civil suits… I’d guess about 300.