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

Jump to First Reply
AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in General Discussion edited March 2024

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.



Read on AppleInsider

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 8
    kurai_kagekurai_kage Posts: 119member
    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
     3Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 2 of 8
    danoxdanox Posts: 3,652member
    After Jan 6 there are many people who think they can threaten the FBI, capital police, or military at will.

    jan 6
    edited March 2024
    coolfactordewmeronnwatto_cobra
     4Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 3 of 8
    apple4thewinapple4thewin Posts: 418member
    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
     3Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 4 of 8
    coolfactorcoolfactor Posts: 2,366member
    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
     4Likes 0Dislikes 1Informative
  • Reply 5 of 8
    mikethemartianmikethemartian Posts: 1,601member
    Probably good rule of thumb to live by.
    watto_cobra
     1Like 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 6 of 8
    Oferofer Posts: 277unconfirmed, 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
     6Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 7 of 8
    williamlondonwilliamlondon Posts: 1,451member
    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
     2Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
Sign In or Register to comment.