A Louisville, Colorado man, John B. Hart, has been dealt a 97-month prison sentence subsequently followed by three years of supervised release for crimes of cyberstalking and obstruction of justice in Hawaii.

According to a press release from the United States Attorney's Office, the 54-year-old Hart was sentenced by Senior U.S. District Court Judge Susan Oki Mollway. His series of offenses targeted his former girlfriend and two men associated with her, spanning from May 2022 to August 2022. Hart engaged in elaborate methods to conceal his identity, utilizing multiple "burner apps" to create fake phone numbers for messaging his victims and attempting to implicate an innocent individual by falsifying reports to law enforcement.

The investigation by the FBI brought Hart's campaign of terror to a halt, which included threats of violence, harassment, and dissemination of personal information. Hart pleaded guilty to three counts of cyberstalking and one count of obstruction of justice in April and has been in custody since his arrest in April 2023. His actions, which Judge Mollway described as causing incalculable harm, were noted for the amount of deception involved, harming not only the direct victims but also wrongly accusing another party.

Senior Trial Attorney Mona Sedky, from the Criminal Division's Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, was part of the prosecution team alongside Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sara D. Ayabe and Aislinn Affinito for the District of Hawaii. "John Hart engaged in a relentless cybercampaign to harass and terrorize his ex-girlfriend and others in her life, masking his own identity and attempting to frame an innocent man in the process," declared United States Attorney Clare E. Connors in the United States Attorney's Office announcement.

FBI Honolulu Special Agent in Charge Steven Merrill stated, "While no sentence can ever make up for the devastating impact John Hart’s actions had on the victims in this case, we hope that this provides a sense of relief to those he affected," as reported by the United States Attorney's Office. The FBI continues to prioritize the crackdown on cyberstalking, which is recognized as one of the fastest-growing crimes.