Tracy Man Guilty of Bomb Threats to SEC Staff

Kulwant (Ken) Singh Sandhu, 56, of Tracy, California, was convicted today on two counts of making harassing interstate telephone calls after a three-day federal trial in Sacramento. The jury found him guilty of unleashing a years-long barrage of violent, sexually charged threats against U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission employees and a private individual, flooding federal offices with over 3,000 calls in 2015 alone.

During the trial, evidence revealed Sandhu’s campaign of terror began as early as 2012. Prosecutors detailed how he targeted SEC staff in Washington, D.C., leaving at least 350 voicemails filled with profanity and graphic calls for violence. He demanded employees be “rounded up, publicly hanged, water-boarded, burned alive, shot, and blown up with rockets and tanks.” Many messages included sexually degrading language aimed directly at named individuals.

The harassment wasn’t limited to government workers. Sandhu also made hundreds of threatening calls to a nongovernmental person, escalating the reach of his campaign beyond federal offices. Authorities say the relentlessness and specificity of the threats prompted immediate federal intervention, triggering a joint investigation by the FBI and the SEC’s Office of Inspector General.

U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert emphasized the danger such attacks pose to federal operations. “This conviction demonstrates the Office of Inspector General’s commitment to investigate individuals who harass SEC officials in carrying out their mission of protecting investors, maintaining fair and orderly functioning of securities markets, and facilitating capital formation,” Talbert said. He credited the FBI, SEC OIG, and his office’s prosecution team for bringing Sandhu to justice.

Assistant United States Attorneys Nirav Desai and James Conolly led the prosecution. The case unfolded under U.S. District Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr., who will sentence Sandhu on April 7, 2017. Each count carries a maximum penalty of two years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The final sentence will consider federal guidelines and statutory factors.

Sandhu’s conviction underscores the federal government’s zero-tolerance stance on threats against public servants. While the charges may not involve physical violence, the FBI and SEC OIG treated the case as a serious threat to national financial infrastructure and employee safety. The verdict sends a clear message: targeting federal workers with violent rhetoric has consequences.

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