New York Man Sentenced to More Than Four Years in Prison for Engaging in Extensive, Four-Year Cyberstalking Campaign Against Former Girlfriend

A New York man was sentenced on Jan. 23 in U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York to 50 months in prison for engaging in an extensive, four-year cyberstalking campaign that targeted a woman he dated for several months.  The victim’s name is being withheld to protect her privacy.

Assistant Attorney Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman of the Southern District of New York made the announcement. 

David Waldman, 50, of New York, New York, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Katherine Polk Failla of the Southern District of New York, who also ordered him to serve three years of supervised release following his prison sentence.  Waldman, a non-practicing lawyer, was initially arrested in June 2018 and has been detained since his arrest.  In August 2018, he pleaded guilty to one count of cyberstalking.

According to admissions made in connection with his plea and evidence presented at sentencing, Waldman engaged in an extensive cyberstalking campaign targeting a woman he briefly dated.  The campaign began in April 2014, shortly after Waldman and the victim ended their relationship, and continued intermittently until the date of Waldman’s arrest.  Over the course of almost four years, Waldman sent the victim hundreds of text messages, voicemail messages, and e-mail messages, and made voluminous posts on a variety of online platforms, in which he falsely claimed, among other assertions, that she abused drugs, had been diagnosed with bipolar and narcissistic personality disorder, and fabricated claims that she had been a victim of child sexual abuse.  Waldman also sent email messages to the victim’s employers, accusing her of being a “habitual drug user” and claiming that he would sue her for defamation, theft, illegal trespass, violating HIPAA, and engaging in other “illegal behaviors.” 

Throughout the four-year campaign, Waldman also repeatedly threatened to rape, kidnap, torture, injure, and kill the victim, kill members of her family, as well as threatened to kill himself at her apartment.  As recently as 2018, Waldman continued to surveil the victim online and acquired tools that could be used to injure her.  During the search of Waldman’s apartment, agents found, on his kitchen counter, a large hunting knife, which was covered in a sheath.  He had a smaller knife in his bedroom.  Waldman also kept a bb gun in his closet and a lock-picking kit in his carrying bag.  According to Waldman’s internet browser history, in 2018, Waldman tracked the victim’s whereabouts, including her running route, and researched telescopes, “pellet pistols,” “air rifles,” and other similar devices.    

Over the course of Waldman’s cyberstalking campaign, the victim obtained multiple state court orders of protection against him.  Waldman repeatedly violated these orders.

Senior Trial Attorney Mona Sedky of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Chiuchiolo of the Southern District of New York prosecuted the case.