A dispute over fantasy football leads to a fake bomb threat, triggering a global investigation and federal accusations, authorities claim.
Matthew Thompson, 25, hailing from Philadelphia, has confessed to two charges of intercontinental and internet-based threats transmission, as alleged by legal authorities. They claim he spread false alarms to law enforcement in the United States and abroad, claiming his adversary was planning a bombing and massacre, as the United States Department of Justice revealed on a Wednesday statement.
CNN requested a comment from Thompson's legal representative.
The first false threat originated from an online argument between Thompson and a participant of his fantasy football chat group, the US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania mentioned in a press release.
Following the knowledge that the member was scheduled to study abroad in Norway in August 2023, Thompson submitted an anonymous "tip" to the Norwegian Police Security Service – the entity that scrutinizes potential threats to Norway's national security – asserting the man intended to carry out a mass shooting in Norway, according to the statement.
Thompson penned that the rival fantasy football player was "intending to roam Oslo and has a shooting scheduled with several others participating. They plan to seize as many as they can during a concert and then proceed to a department store," as argued by prosecutors.
Law enforcement personnel in Norway and the United States devoted five days and countless hours to investigating the threat, prosecutors reported. Thompson eventually acknowledged his responsibility in an interview with the FBI, according to the US Attorney's Office.
While investigating Thompson for the international misconduct in Norway, authorities claimed they discovered that Thompson sent another concocted threat earlier this year – this time to the University of Iowa.
In March, Thompson emailed the university, suggesting that the same fantasy football team member was promising to "detonate the campus," a notion Thompson was privy to being untrue, prosecutors asserted.
"While already being prosecuted for one hoax threat triggered by, believe it or not, his fantasy football league, Matthew Thompson inexplicably decided to send another," said Jacqueline Romero, US Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. "His actions were highly disruptive and consumed substantial law enforcement time and resources on two continents, thereby diverting them from actual incidents and investigations."
Thompson was released on a $25,000 bond, as indicated in court records, and is set to be sentenced in January 2025. He faces a potential sentence of five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.
Romero cautioned in her statement that fabricated threats are illegal.
"My recommendation to cyber warriors aiming to dodge federal charges: always consider the possible repercussions prior to hitting 'post' or 'send,'" she advised.
Us law enforcement spent countless hours investigating Thompson's false threats, both in Norway and the United States. Thompson admitted to sending another fabricated threat to the University of Iowa.
