Albany Man Pleads Guilty to Making False Statements to the FBI

Andrew T Baxter, Interim United States Attorney for the Northern District of New York, makes the following announcement:

Manik Gupta, 22, of 800 Huntington Court, Albany, New York, pled guilty today in Federal District Court to a single count information charging Gupta with making material false statements to a federal law enforcement agency, namely, the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

In his plea Gupta admitted that on or about February 15, 2008, Gupta transmitted a series of e-mail messages to the FBI national website at www.fbi.gov. The statements made by Gupta to the FBI implied that Gupta was a student at Cornell University, which was not true, and suggested that another Cornell student known to Gupta should be investigated by the FBI. Gupta falsely claimed in his e-mail messages that this other Cornell student was looking at websites that provided instructions as to how to make bombs, and that the student was making statements threatening violence against teachers. In addition, Gupta falsely reported in his e-mails to the FBI that this other Cornell student repeatedly joked about acts of terrorism and talked about sending anthrax to the White House. Gupta said that this other Cornell student was dangerous and a threat to the nation. During his plea Gupta admitted that the statements were false and simply a fabrication.

Gupta faces a maximum period of imprisonment of five years and a maximum fine of $250,000. Senior United States District Court Judge Thomas J. McAvoy scheduled sentencing for August 26, 2009.

The case was investigated by the United States Secret Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Cornell University Police Department.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Thomas P. Walsh. Further inquiries may be directed to the United States Attorney's Office, Binghamton branch office, at (607) 773-2887.

Press Releases | Albany Home