Albuquerque Woman Admits Guilt in Multi-Year Cyberstalking and Identity Theft Scheme

ALBUQUERQUE – An Albuquerque woman pleaded guilty in federal court to a series of crimes involving cyberstalking, computer intrusion and false reporting to law enforcement that spanned several years.

According to court documents, from March 2016 to December 2019, Kalani S. Uehara, 26, engaged in a campaign of harassment and intimidation against multiple victims. Uehara assumed the identities of various individuals to send numerous threatening and harassing electronic communications to individuals, schools, and law firms. Uehara threatened to kill, harm, or extort her victims, and took steps to assume others' identities, open false email accounts in their names, make false accusations, and persistently send vulgar, harassing, and terrifying messages.

Specifically, Uehara admitted to engaging in a cyberstalking campaign against N.C., a former Albuquerque Public Schools student. Uehara admitted to:

• Gaining unauthorized access to N.C.'s Google and Twitter accounts;
• Creating fake accounts in N.C.'s name;
• Sending hundreds of threatening and harassing messages impersonating N.C.;
• Obtaining a restraining order against N.C. using fabricated evidence; and
• Falsely reporting N.C. to law enforcement, resulting in N.C.'s arrest.

Uehara also admitted to making false statements to the FBI on July 28, 2016, and July 27, 2018, regarding the cyberstalking activities and use of the TextNow app.

At sentencing, Uehara faces a maximum of five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 for each count of conviction. Upon her release from prison, Uehara will be subject to up to three years of supervised release.

U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today.

The FBI Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Regional Computer Forensics Laboratory, Albuquerque Police Department and Albuquerque Public Schools Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kimberly A. Brawley, Jaymie L. Roybal and Eva F. Fontanez are prosecuting the case.

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