A 25-year-old Philadelphia man took a fantasy football feud one step too far and ultimately pleaded guilty to federal crimes.
Matthew Gabriel was responsible for sending two fake tips to authorities in Norway and Iowa after claiming that another member of his fantasy league was planning to commit a mass shooting in Norway and “blow up the school” at the University of Iowa, the University of Iowa. United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero made the announcement Wednesday.
Gabriel admitted to a federal judge that he submitted the false tips and pleaded guilty Wednesday to two counts of communicating interstate threats.
Federal prosecutors have not revealed the origins of the feud, but Gabriel is said to have submitted his first anonymous tip to the Norwegian Police Security Service via the internet on August 3, 2023.
Gabriel falsely claimed that a member of his fantasy football group, who was studying abroad in Norway, planned to carry out an attack after arriving in the country later that month.
Gabriel had named the victim, about whom he had gathered information through the fantasy football group chat, and provided a description of him, telling Norwegian police that several people were believed to be involved and that they “plan to take as many as possible to a concert and then go to a department store,” according to the press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Gabriel added in his message to the Norwegian Police Security Service: “I simply cannot allow random people to die on my conscience.”
The tip prompted a rapid response that took more than 900 investigative hours over a five-day period, ultimately leading to Gabriel admitting to the FBI that he had submitted the false tip.
Even as prosecutors filed federal charges for the first false tip, Gabriel “inexplicably” sent another email in March — this time to the University of Iowa — posing as another person trying to alert officials to a ‘possible threat’, as the subject of the email. noted.
Federal prosecutors said Gabriel sent a screenshot of the fantasy football group with a message that read: “Hello University of Iowa, a man named [Victim 1] told me he was going to blow up the school.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Gabriel knew there was no threat and that the message was sent as a joke, referring to the false tip Gabriel had sent earlier.
“While already facing charges for a false threat spurred by his fantasy football league, Matthew Gabriel inexplicably decided to send another one,” Romero said in a statement. “His actions were extremely disruptive and required significant law enforcement resources on two continents, distracting them from actual incidents and investigations.
“Hoax threats are not a joke or protected speech, they are a crime. My advice to keyboard warriors looking to avoid federal charges: always consider the potential consequences before pressing ‘post’ or ‘send.’
Gabriel struck a deal with prosecutors that will likely spare him time behind bars, as prosecutors agreed to recommend 15 months of house arrest and three years of probation. the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
In an interview with the newspaper, Gabriel’s attorney, Lonny Fish, called the whole case “a joke” and acknowledged that it “probably went a little further than what was intended.”
He also added that his client was “lucky to be under house arrest.”
