Collin County Man Sentenced for Sending Threatening Social Media Texts

        PLANO, Texas – A 23-year-old Richardson, Texas man has been sentenced to prison for federal violations in the Eastern District of Texas announced U.S. Attorney Joseph D. Brown and FBI Special Agent in Charge Matthew J. DeSarno.                

        Rahul Ramesh Joshi pleaded guilty on Oct. 3, 2019 to sending threatening communications to injure another, in interstate commerce, and was sentenced to 48 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Amos Mazzant on March 6, 2020.

        According to information presented in court, in December 2018, a federal law enforcement agent began investigating a complaint from a female Snapchat user.  She allegedly received threatening messages on different messaging apps from several different users that all seemed to be connected.  Further investigation revealed at least four confirmed victims in different states all receiving similar threatening messages.  Joshi had lived in Michigan before attending the University of Texas and eventually moving to Richardson, Texas. 

        This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office, University of Pittsburgh Police Department, University of Texas Police Department, and Wellesley Police Department in Massachusetts.