October 23 – A criminal complaint was unsealed today in federal court in Brooklyn charging Kenneth Kurson, also known as “Jayden Wagner” and “Eddie Train,” with stalking and harassing three individuals. Kurson surrendered to authorities earlier today in Brooklyn and will make his initial appearance this afternoon before United States Magistrate Judge Ramon E. Reyes.
Seth D. DuCharme, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and William F. Sweeney, Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), announced the charges.
As alleged in the complaint, between approximately November 2015 and December 2015, Kurson engaged in a pattern of stalking and harassment against three victims. As part of this pattern, Kurson used multiple aliases to file false complaints about two of the victims with their employer, post false negative reviews about one victim’s professional conduct on crowd-sourced review websites and made unsolicited contact with two of the victims. Kurson traveled on multiple occasions to the workplace of two of the victims, taking photographs and inquiring about one victim’s work schedule. During the investigation, the FBI gathered evidence that Kurson simultaneously engaged in a similar pattern of harassment against two other individuals. As a result of Kurson’s conduct, an employer of two of the victims hired a security guard.
“Kurson is alleged to have engaged in a disturbing pattern of retaliatory harassment that intimidated and alarmed several victims and their employer,” stated Acting United States Attorney DuCharme. “This Office is committed to protecting victims from malicious cyberstalking activity and apprehending criminals who try to rely on Internet anonymity to facilitate their crimes.”
“As alleged, Kurson bullied his victims by attacking their character online and attempted to intimidate them by showing up at their place of employment without a valid reason. The shadows of cyberspace may have provided him with some cover, but once his identity was revealed, he no longer had the benefit of a virtual retreat,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Sweeney.
The charges in the complaint are allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Public Integrity Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Nathan D. Reilly and Ryan C. Harris are in charge of the prosecution.
Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of New York