United States v. AUSTIN SUMAN, Southern District of New York (Nov. 15, 2024)

AUSA: Reyhan Watson 

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK 
 
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 
 

v. 
 
AUSTIN SUMAN, 
 
                                       Defendant. 
 

        
      SEALED COMPLAINT 
 

Violations of 18 U.S.C. §§ 875(c), 
844(e), and 2261A(2) 
 

      COUNTY OF OFFENSE: 
      ORANGE 

 
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK, ss.: 
 
 PAO MEI FISHER, being duly sworn, deposes and says that she is a Special Agent with 
the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), and charges as follows:  
 

COUNT ONE 
(Threatening Interstate Communications) 

 
1. On or about November 8, 2024, in the Southern District of New York and 

elsewhere, AUSTIN SUMAN, the defendant, knowingly and intentionally transmitted in interstate 
and foreign commerce a communication containing a threat to injure the person of another, to wit, 
SUMAN sent several Facebook messages and emails to a news reporter (“Victim-1”) in which he 
threatened to injure or kill Victim-1 and her family.  

 
(Title 18, United States Code, Section 875(c)) 

 
COUNT TWO 

(Willfully Making a Threat Involving an Explosive) 
 

2. On or about November 8, 2024, in the Southern District of New York and 
elsewhere, AUSTIN SUMAN, the defendant, through the use of the telephone or other instrument 
of interstate or foreign commerce, or in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, willfully made 
a threat to kill, injure, or intimidate an individual or unlawfully to damage or destroy a building, 
vehicle, or other real or personal property by means of fire or an explosive, to wit, SUMAN sent a 
Facebook message over the Internet in which he threatened to blow up Victim-1’s residence. 
 

(Title 18, United States Code, Section 844(e)) 
 

COUNT THREE 
(Interstate Stalking) 

 
3. On or about November 8, 2024, in the Southern District of New York and 

elsewhere, AUSTIN SUMAN, the defendant, with the intent to kill, injure, harass, intimidate, and 
place under surveillance with intent to kill, injure, harass, and intimidate another person, used the 

JessicaHummel
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24 MJ 3923



2 

mail, any interactive computer service and electronic communication service and electronic 
communication system of interstate commerce, and any other facility of interstate and foreign 
commerce to engage in a course of conduct that placed that person in reasonable fear of the death 
of and serious bodily injury to that person and caused, attempted to cause, and would be reasonably 
expected to cause substantial emotional distress to that person, to wit, SUMAN sent several 
Facebook messages and emails over the Internet to Victim-1, using various hate-based remarks 
about race, ethnicity, national origin, and gender, in which he threatened to injure or kill Victim-1 
and her family, which placed Victim-1 in reasonable fear of death and serious bodily injury, and 
which caused, and would be reasonably expected to cause, substantial emotional distress. 

(Title 18, United States Code, Section 2261A(2).) 

The bases for my knowledge and for the foregoing charges are, in part, as follows: 

4. I am a Special Agent with the FBI and member of the Hudson Valley Safe Streets
Task Force. I have been a Special Agent with the FBI since January 2017. I have participated in 
numerous investigations involving interstate crimes through means of interstate commerce, 
including telephone, mail, and the Internet. I have been personally involved in the investigation of 
this matter. 

5. This affidavit is based upon my personal participation in the investigation of this
matter, my conversations with law enforcement agents, and my examination of reports and records. 
Because this affidavit is being submitted for the limited purpose of establishing probable cause, it 
does not include all the facts that I have learned during my investigation. Where the contents of 
documents and the actions, statements, and conversations of others are reported herein, they are 
reported in substance and in part. 

6. And as set forth in greater detail below, I have learned that, AUSTIN SUMAN, the
defendant, made a series of violent and hate-based threats to injure or kill, and blow up the 
residence of, Victim-1, who is a news reporter based in Orange County, New York, in the Southern 
District of New York.1 

7. On or about November 8, 2024, AUSTIN SUMAN, the defendant, sent Victim-1
the following messages, among others, over Facebook Messenger to Victim-1’s professional, news 
reporter-affiliated Facebook account. Based on my review of those messages: 

a. SUMAN, unsolicited, sent Victim-1 a series of threatening messages: “you
are spick.” He then wrote: “you dumb fuckin cunt,” “female journalist what a joke,” “dumb 
Mexican I will end you,” “you better stay in new york,” “I will end you and your family.” He then 
said “Hahha ill see you soon . . . Dumb fuckin spick.” 

b. SUMAN used a series of words and phrases reflecting a hate-based animus
against Hispanic people, particularly Mexicans. For example, SUMAN repeatedly referred to 
Victim-1 as a “spick” and called her a “dumb Mexican.” Based on my training and experience, 

1 Direct quotes attributed to AUSTIN SUMAN, the defendant, are included in this Complaint as 
written by him and, therefore, may include typographical or grammatical errors. 



3 

“spick” is an ethnic slur that is intended to refer to people of Hispanic, Latin-American, or Spanish 
descent. SUMAN added that Victim-1 was a “typical spick,” noting, “We are going to deport your 
family all of them . . . [u]seless life. Dumb bitch. I would drag you by your legs naked with my 
horse.”  
 

c. SUMAN then explained that his threats were retaliation for a news article 
that Victim-1 wrote about him “years ago.” Based on my review of posts written by Victim-1, in 
or around February 2019, Victim-1 reported that a man named “Austin Suman,” and having a 
photograph similar to SUMAN’s photograph in state and law enforcement databases, was arrested 
for allegedly threatening his roommate with a firearm at their residence. SUMAN told Victim-1: 
“I have more guns than ever.” “I’m full auto now bitch,” he said. Based on my training and 
experience, I believe that the phrase “full auto” refers to someone with fully automatic firearms, 
which are firearms that fire continuously so long as the trigger is held down, allowing for a much 
faster rate of fire and potentially causing more damage in a shorter period than non-automatic 
firearms. Such firearms are particularly lethal. SUMAN then explained that, although his guns had 
previously been taken, they were “all returned” and “no charges [were] committed.” “Guess what 
I have now? More than you or your family might know. Fucking spicks,” he said. 

 
d. SUMAN also threatened to blow up Victim-1’s residence: “I can blow your 

house off it’s foundation tread lightly.” 
 
8. Around the same time that he sent threatening messages over Facebook, on or about 

November 8, 2024, AUSTIN SUMAN, the defendant, also sent several emails from his Gmail 
account to Victim-1’s professional, news reporter-affiliated email address. SUMAN wrote, “You 
are a dumb spick, we coming for you.” In another email, he added, “You are a joke of a journalist, 
dumb fuckin Spanish journalist . . . .” 

 
9. Based on my review of Department of Motor Vehicle records, postal records, and 

law enforcement reports and records, AUSTIN SUMAN, the defendant, is associated with a 
residence in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina (“Suman Address”). For the following reasons, I 
respectfully submit that there is probable cause to believe that SUMAN is the person who sent the 
aforementioned threats:  

 
a. Based on my review of documents obtained from Meta Platforms, Inc. (the 

parent company of Facebook), the subscriber of the Facebook account that sent the threats is 
“Austin Suman,” residing at the Suman Address. Subscriber information for the Facebook account 
lists the same Gmail account as the one that sent Victim-1 threatening emails. Additionally, the 
banner picture for the Facebook account shows a red or burgundy-colored Toyota with a white 
roof in front of a residence, each of which appears to be the same vehicle and residence observed 
by law enforcement on or about November 9, 2024, at the Suman Address. The vehicle observed 
by law enforcement had South Carolina license plates registered to SUMAN at the Suman Address. 

 
b. Based on my review of documents obtained from Google LLC 

(the company that provides Gmail account services), the subscriber of the Gmail account that sent 
the threats is “Austin Suman.” Subscriber information for the Gmail account reflects the same 
verified phone number as the Facebook account.  



4 

c. Based on my review of the aforementioned documents obtained from
Facebook and Google, the accounts that sent the above communications were accessed on or 
around November 8, 2024, from the same Internet protocol (“IP”) address: 64.138.244.235. This 
IP address is connected to a device in the vicinity of the Suman Address. Based on my training 
and experience, IP address location information will often not be able to identify the exact location 
of the device associated with a given IP address.  

d. Based on a law enforcement review of postal records for the Suman
Address, several packages have been shipped to that address bearing recipient name “Austin 
Suman.” One of those packages was delivered on or around October 17, 2024. USPS records 
reflect that a tracking inquiry for that package was made from the same IP address as indicated 
above, among approximately three other IP addresses.  

e. On or around November 9, 2024, law enforcement personnel conducted
surveillance at the Suman Address and, in addition to observing the above-mentioned vehicle 
registered to SUMAN, law enforcement also observed a White male matching the description and 
photos of SUMAN, as depicted in DMV records and social media accounts, including the above 
Facebook account. 

10. After Victim-1 received these threats, I spoke with her several times. Based on my
conversations with her and my review of reports and records relating to statements she made to 
other law enforcement officers, Victim-1 indicated to me that these threats caused her and her 
family substantial emotional distress. Victim-1 said she felt nervous, alarmed, and feared for her 
and her family’s health and safety. As a result, in the morning of November 10, 2024, shortly after 
the threats were made, Victim-1 went to local law enforcement to try to obtain an order of 
protection to protect herself and her family.  

WHEREFORE, I respectfully request that a warrant be issued for the arrest of AUSTIN 
SUMAN, the defendant, and that he be arrested, and imprisoned or bailed, as the case may be. 

_______________________________ 
PAO MEI FISHER 
Special Agent 
Federal Bureau of Investigation 

Sworn to me through the transmission of this 
Affidavit by reliable electronic means, i.e., by 
FaceTime, pursuant to Federal Rules of 
Criminal Procedure 41(d)(3) and 4.1, this 11th 
day of November, 2024 

______________________________________ 
THE HONORABLE JUDITH C. McCARTHY 
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK 

/s/ Pao Mei Fisher by JCM with permission

mccarthyj
New Stamp

AUSA: Reyhan Watson 

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK 
 
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 
 

v. 
 
AUSTIN SUMAN, 
 
                                       Defendant. 
 

        
      SEALED COMPLAINT 
 

Violations of 18 U.S.C. §§ 875(c), 
844(e), and 2261A(2) 
 

      COUNTY OF OFFENSE: 
      ORANGE 

 
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK, ss.: 
 
 PAO MEI FISHER, being duly sworn, deposes and says that she is a Special Agent with 
the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), and charges as follows:  
 

COUNT ONE 
(Threatening Interstate Communications) 

 
1. On or about November 8, 2024, in the Southern District of New York and 

elsewhere, AUSTIN SUMAN, the defendant, knowingly and intentionally transmitted in interstate 
and foreign commerce a communication containing a threat to injure the person of another, to wit, 
SUMAN sent several Facebook messages and emails to a news reporter (“Victim-1”) in which he 
threatened to injure or kill Victim-1 and her family.  

 
(Title 18, United States Code, Section 875(c)) 

 
COUNT TWO 

(Willfully Making a Threat Involving an Explosive) 
 

2. On or about November 8, 2024, in the Southern District of New York and 
elsewhere, AUSTIN SUMAN, the defendant, through the use of the telephone or other instrument 
of interstate or foreign commerce, or in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, willfully made 
a threat to kill, injure, or intimidate an individual or unlawfully to damage or destroy a building, 
vehicle, or other real or personal property by means of fire or an explosive, to wit, SUMAN sent a 
Facebook message over the Internet in which he threatened to blow up Victim-1’s residence. 
 

(Title 18, United States Code, Section 844(e)) 
 

COUNT THREE 
(Interstate Stalking) 

 
3. On or about November 8, 2024, in the Southern District of New York and 

elsewhere, AUSTIN SUMAN, the defendant, with the intent to kill, injure, harass, intimidate, and 
place under surveillance with intent to kill, injure, harass, and intimidate another person, used the 

JessicaHummel
Typewritten Text
24 MJ 3923



2 

mail, any interactive computer service and electronic communication service and electronic 
communication system of interstate commerce, and any other facility of interstate and foreign 
commerce to engage in a course of conduct that placed that person in reasonable fear of the death 
of and serious bodily injury to that person and caused, attempted to cause, and would be reasonably 
expected to cause substantial emotional distress to that person, to wit, SUMAN sent several 
Facebook messages and emails over the Internet to Victim-1, using various hate-based remarks 
about race, ethnicity, national origin, and gender, in which he threatened to injure or kill Victim-1 
and her family, which placed Victim-1 in reasonable fear of death and serious bodily injury, and 
which caused, and would be reasonably expected to cause, substantial emotional distress. 

(Title 18, United States Code, Section 2261A(2).) 

The bases for my knowledge and for the foregoing charges are, in part, as follows: 

4. I am a Special Agent with the FBI and member of the Hudson Valley Safe Streets
Task Force. I have been a Special Agent with the FBI since January 2017. I have participated in 
numerous investigations involving interstate crimes through means of interstate commerce, 
including telephone, mail, and the Internet. I have been personally involved in the investigation of 
this matter. 

5. This affidavit is based upon my personal participation in the investigation of this
matter, my conversations with law enforcement agents, and my examination of reports and records. 
Because this affidavit is being submitted for the limited purpose of establishing probable cause, it 
does not include all the facts that I have learned during my investigation. Where the contents of 
documents and the actions, statements, and conversations of others are reported herein, they are 
reported in substance and in part. 

6. And as set forth in greater detail below, I have learned that, AUSTIN SUMAN, the
defendant, made a series of violent and hate-based threats to injure or kill, and blow up the 
residence of, Victim-1, who is a news reporter based in Orange County, New York, in the Southern 
District of New York.1 

7. On or about November 8, 2024, AUSTIN SUMAN, the defendant, sent Victim-1
the following messages, among others, over Facebook Messenger to Victim-1’s professional, news 
reporter-affiliated Facebook account. Based on my review of those messages: 

a. SUMAN, unsolicited, sent Victim-1 a series of threatening messages: “you
are spick.” He then wrote: “you dumb fuckin cunt,” “female journalist what a joke,” “dumb 
Mexican I will end you,” “you better stay in new york,” “I will end you and your family.” He then 
said “Hahha ill see you soon . . . Dumb fuckin spick.” 

b. SUMAN used a series of words and phrases reflecting a hate-based animus
against Hispanic people, particularly Mexicans. For example, SUMAN repeatedly referred to 
Victim-1 as a “spick” and called her a “dumb Mexican.” Based on my training and experience, 

1 Direct quotes attributed to AUSTIN SUMAN, the defendant, are included in this Complaint as 
written by him and, therefore, may include typographical or grammatical errors. 



3 

“spick” is an ethnic slur that is intended to refer to people of Hispanic, Latin-American, or Spanish 
descent. SUMAN added that Victim-1 was a “typical spick,” noting, “We are going to deport your 
family all of them . . . [u]seless life. Dumb bitch. I would drag you by your legs naked with my 
horse.”  
 

c. SUMAN then explained that his threats were retaliation for a news article 
that Victim-1 wrote about him “years ago.” Based on my review of posts written by Victim-1, in 
or around February 2019, Victim-1 reported that a man named “Austin Suman,” and having a 
photograph similar to SUMAN’s photograph in state and law enforcement databases, was arrested 
for allegedly threatening his roommate with a firearm at their residence. SUMAN told Victim-1: 
“I have more guns than ever.” “I’m full auto now bitch,” he said. Based on my training and 
experience, I believe that the phrase “full auto” refers to someone with fully automatic firearms, 
which are firearms that fire continuously so long as the trigger is held down, allowing for a much 
faster rate of fire and potentially causing more damage in a shorter period than non-automatic 
firearms. Such firearms are particularly lethal. SUMAN then explained that, although his guns had 
previously been taken, they were “all returned” and “no charges [were] committed.” “Guess what 
I have now? More than you or your family might know. Fucking spicks,” he said. 

 
d. SUMAN also threatened to blow up Victim-1’s residence: “I can blow your 

house off it’s foundation tread lightly.” 
 
8. Around the same time that he sent threatening messages over Facebook, on or about 

November 8, 2024, AUSTIN SUMAN, the defendant, also sent several emails from his Gmail 
account to Victim-1’s professional, news reporter-affiliated email address. SUMAN wrote, “You 
are a dumb spick, we coming for you.” In another email, he added, “You are a joke of a journalist, 
dumb fuckin Spanish journalist . . . .” 

 
9. Based on my review of Department of Motor Vehicle records, postal records, and 

law enforcement reports and records, AUSTIN SUMAN, the defendant, is associated with a 
residence in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina (“Suman Address”). For the following reasons, I 
respectfully submit that there is probable cause to believe that SUMAN is the person who sent the 
aforementioned threats:  

 
a. Based on my review of documents obtained from Meta Platforms, Inc. (the 

parent company of Facebook), the subscriber of the Facebook account that sent the threats is 
“Austin Suman,” residing at the Suman Address. Subscriber information for the Facebook account 
lists the same Gmail account as the one that sent Victim-1 threatening emails. Additionally, the 
banner picture for the Facebook account shows a red or burgundy-colored Toyota with a white 
roof in front of a residence, each of which appears to be the same vehicle and residence observed 
by law enforcement on or about November 9, 2024, at the Suman Address. The vehicle observed 
by law enforcement had South Carolina license plates registered to SUMAN at the Suman Address. 

 
b. Based on my review of documents obtained from Google LLC 

(the company that provides Gmail account services), the subscriber of the Gmail account that sent 
the threats is “Austin Suman.” Subscriber information for the Gmail account reflects the same 
verified phone number as the Facebook account.  



4 

c. Based on my review of the aforementioned documents obtained from
Facebook and Google, the accounts that sent the above communications were accessed on or 
around November 8, 2024, from the same Internet protocol (“IP”) address: 64.138.244.235. This 
IP address is connected to a device in the vicinity of the Suman Address. Based on my training 
and experience, IP address location information will often not be able to identify the exact location 
of the device associated with a given IP address.  

d. Based on a law enforcement review of postal records for the Suman
Address, several packages have been shipped to that address bearing recipient name “Austin 
Suman.” One of those packages was delivered on or around October 17, 2024. USPS records 
reflect that a tracking inquiry for that package was made from the same IP address as indicated 
above, among approximately three other IP addresses.  

e. On or around November 9, 2024, law enforcement personnel conducted
surveillance at the Suman Address and, in addition to observing the above-mentioned vehicle 
registered to SUMAN, law enforcement also observed a White male matching the description and 
photos of SUMAN, as depicted in DMV records and social media accounts, including the above 
Facebook account. 

10. After Victim-1 received these threats, I spoke with her several times. Based on my
conversations with her and my review of reports and records relating to statements she made to 
other law enforcement officers, Victim-1 indicated to me that these threats caused her and her 
family substantial emotional distress. Victim-1 said she felt nervous, alarmed, and feared for her 
and her family’s health and safety. As a result, in the morning of November 10, 2024, shortly after 
the threats were made, Victim-1 went to local law enforcement to try to obtain an order of 
protection to protect herself and her family.  

WHEREFORE, I respectfully request that a warrant be issued for the arrest of AUSTIN 
SUMAN, the defendant, and that he be arrested, and imprisoned or bailed, as the case may be. 

_______________________________ 
PAO MEI FISHER 
Special Agent 
Federal Bureau of Investigation 

Sworn to me through the transmission of this 
Affidavit by reliable electronic means, i.e., by 
FaceTime, pursuant to Federal Rules of 
Criminal Procedure 41(d)(3) and 4.1, this 11th 
day of November, 2024 

______________________________________ 
THE HONORABLE JUDITH C. McCARTHY 
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK 

/s/ Pao Mei Fisher by JCM with permission

mccarthyj
New Stamp