Westchester Siblings Face Federal Cyberstalking, Extortion Charges
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Two siblings are facing federal charges for allegedly cyberstalking and conspiring to extort victims for money by threatening to release sexually explicit videos and images.
A complaint from Damian Williams, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, will be unsealed and presented in federal court in White Plains on Dec. 11 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Victoria Reznik against Fred Mastroianni, 54, formerly of White Plains, and Doreen Mastroianni, 69, of Yorktown.
“The Mastroianni siblings allegedly preyed on individuals who were victimized by Fred Mastroianni; stalking and conspiring to extort them for the siblings’ financial benefit,” said FBI Assistant Director in Charge James Dennehy. “Victimization by sexual exploitation is beyond appalling and will not be tolerated. FBI New York will work tirelessly to hold accountable anyone attempting to utilize stalking and extortion for financial gain.”
Fred Mastroianni is currently serving a 35-year sentence imposed by Philip M. Halpern, U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of New York, on Aug. 15 for receiving and distributing child pornography and for the sexual exploitation of a minor.
According to Williams, since at least October, the brother and sister engaged in a plot to extort victims by threatening to release sexually explicit images and videos of the victims that Fred Mastroianni saved. The extortion attempts were designed to compel victims to contribute money to his commissary account in prison and to fund the purchase of an insurance policy against Doreen’s life for the benefit of her brother.
Williams stated that Fred Mastroianni has used another inmate’s e-mail account to send his sister draft extortion threats in furtherance of the scheme. At Fred’s direction, Doreen forwarded those extortion threats to victims on Fred’s behalf.
Fred and Doreen Mastroianni are each charged with one count of cyberstalking, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison; one count of interstate extortion, which carries a maximum sentence of two years in prison; and one count of conspiracy to commit interstate extortion, which can bring a sentence of up to five years in prison.
Rick has more than 40 years’ experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, running the gamut from politics and crime to sports and human interest. He has been an editor at Examiner Media since 2012. Read more from Rick’s editor-author bio here. Read Rick’s work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/pezzullo_rick-writer/
