A former Apple engineer is learning the hard way that you shouldn't threaten the FBI

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in General Discussion edited March 15

A federal jury has convicted a former Apple employee for threatening to injure FBI agents after a short trial.

A wooden judge's gavel and sound block on a reflective dark surface.
Ex-Apple employee found guilty of threatening FBI agents | Image Credit: Quince Creative



Court records obtained by Kron4 state that Brian Broderick former Apple employee believed the company was spying on him. While on medical leave, he sent multiple threatening emails to his coworkers, as confirmed by several employees who reported the matter to the Santa Cruz police.

Broderick then contacted the FBI repeatedly in 2021 and 2022 to report multiple issues, including allegations against Apple. Apple filed a restraining order against the man in December 2021, which was granted for three years.

The Santa Cruz Police Department claimed that Broderick was paranoid and suffering from a mental health crisis. As a precaution, the SCPD obtained a gun violence restraining order against him and seized a gun from his storage locker.

When an FBI agent followed up on Broderick's reports in May 2022, he replied with "escalating and derogatory emails" to FBI San Francisco Division agents.

One email, sent in June 2022, showed Broderick claiming to be an "American who is literally hunting an idiot traitor." He warned agents that they had 24 hours to act on his allegations against Apple or "I go beyond taking your livelihood."

He later posted a video of himself surveilling an FBI office.

Broderick could face up to five years in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for June 24.

In November 2022, a former parts and services buyer at Apple pleaded guilty to over $17 million in fraud against Apple. He was sentenced to serve three years in prison and pay more than $19 million in restitution.

In May 2023, the Department of Justice charged a third ex-engineer over the alleged theft of self-driving car tech in 2018, after the engineer tried to hand Apple's trade secrets over to a Chinese autonomous driving tech company.



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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 8
    kurai_kagekurai_kage Posts: 105member
    Reading the article, even though it doesn't describe his origins, I sense an implicit "Florida man..."  CA has its fair share of crazies too.
    apple4thewindewmewatto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 8
    danoxdanox Posts: 2,874member
    After Jan 6 there are many people who think they can threaten the FBI, capital police, or military at will.

    jan 6
    edited March 15 coolfactordewmeronnwatto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 8
    apple4thewinapple4thewin Posts: 67member
    kurai_kage said:
    Reading the article, even though it doesn't describe his origins, I sense an implicit "Florida man..."  CA has its fair share of crazies too.
    As a Floridian I am surprised to hear that he wasn’t. 
    dewmeAlex_Vwatto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 8
    coolfactorcoolfactor Posts: 2,245member
    We're definitely living in a crazy time. Mental illness was already on the rise, but went into overdrive after 2019. Combined with more harmful drugs circulating, brutal economic stresses, increased senses of entitlement, and now scary, unnecessary wars, it's all pushing us to our limits, directly and indirectly. We're not through this yet, but the solution starts with us, on an individual level. We can't turn to governments and companies to fix this for us, or as an entity to blame. We need to look inward, and begin the changes for ourselves.

    I hope the guy eventually gets the help that he needs. Maybe prison will give him time to reflect and grow.
    mobirdAllMwilliamlondonJMStearnsX2watto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 8
    mikethemartianmikethemartian Posts: 1,326member
    Probably good rule of thumb to live by.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 8
    OferOfer Posts: 241unconfirmed, member
    This person is clearly experiencing a mental health issue. He doesn’t belong in a prison, he belongs in a mental healthcare facility.
    entropysJWKennyAllMronnwilliamlondonwatto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 8
    AllMAllM Posts: 65member
    Ofer said:
    This person is clearly experiencing a mental health issue. He doesn’t belong in a prison, he belongs in a mental healthcare facility.
    Seems all the Feds can do is frame you and lock you up. 
    williamlondonAlex_Vwatto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 8
    williamlondonwilliamlondon Posts: 1,324member
    AllM said:
    Ofer said:
    This person is clearly experiencing a mental health issue. He doesn’t belong in a prison, he belongs in a mental healthcare facility.
    Seems all the Feds can do is frame you and lock you up. 
    Whose fault is that? The Feds for doing what they're supposed to do? We need comprehensive programmes which require legislation from our do-nothing congress (on both sides). It's really all our faults, the people, for not demanding more from our government. Easy to point that fickle finger of blame outward at others.
    JMStearnsX2watto_cobra
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