CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A federal grand jury has returned a criminal indictment against 27-year-old Amir Khayyat for cyberstalking and making interstate threats, and for sending his victim hundreds of harassing and threatening emails and voicemails, according to a news release.
Investigators say Khayyat faces five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the cyberstalking charge and the communicating threats charge each, and is currently in federal custody while he awaits his trial.
Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, and Robert Wells, Special Agent in charge of the FBI In N.C., announced Khayyat’s charges on October 22nd.
Detectives say Khayyat met his victim in 2017, identified as “Jane Doe” in the court documents, through professional means, as she is a licensed psychologist and credentialed mental health service provider.
The indictment says Khayyat extensively cyberstalked and began threatening Jane Doe from April 2019 through October 2020.
Khayyat sent hundreds of emails harassing Jane Doe, including unsolicited sexual imagery, from several different email addresses, and left many voicemails harassing her as well, according to a news release.
Investigators say several of the communication attempts contained threats to harm Jane Doe and police officers, and Khayyat continued to harass her even after she got a state no-contact order.
The charges against Khayyat are allegations, and he is innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Warren of Charlotte is prosecuting the case, according to a news release.
