N.Y. man arrested after threatening Colo. business
The FBI has arrested a New York man who sent photos of two MAC-11 submachine guns to employees at Ibotta and then threatened to turn the Denver retail-rebate company into “Las Vegaspart2.”
Victor Casillas, 34, of Brooklyn, was taken into custody Tuesday night in midtown Manhattan, said John Marzulli, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s office in Brooklyn. He is charged with making extortionist threats, a felony, and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
Casillas made a series of threats between Sept. 26 and Oct. 1 against Ibotta workers, according to the criminal complaint filed Friday. He allegedly named seven Ibotta employees he was going to kill.
Then, on Oct. 4, three days after the mass shooting in Las Vegas, Casillas allegedly sent an email to Ibotta saying: “Get ready for a Las Vegas repeat (final warning). I still have not recieved (sic) my god dam FLTNDS … (expletive). . . Well get ready 5 Las Vegaspart2.”
Fifty-eight people were killed and nearly 500 were injured by a gunman shooting from the 32nd floor of a hotel near an outdoor country music festival.
Tech startup Ibotta developed a mobile app that consumers can use to earn cash rebates on purchases of products from milk to Uber rides. The popularity of the app, which has been downloaded more than 22 million times, has helped the company grow to more than 400 employees.
Casillas claimed in numerous communications that Ibotta stole $100 from him. Casillas first opened an account with the company on Sept. 19, 2014. He opened 14 more accounts in 2016 and 2017 using different email addresses, often with “187” — the California penal code for murder — embedded in the name.
Ibotta, which paid referral bonuses to clients, concluded the multiple accounts were an attempt to win bonuses fraudulently, according to the criminal complaint.
The murder threats started Sept. 26. A message said, “I wanna know who your spouse and children are too and I’m not asking you I’m telling you, I want to know who your parents are as well if the pieces of trash are even still alive (for now) for that matter,” the complaint says.
The suspect on Sept. 27 allegedly sent an email with a photograph of two machine guns and bullets attached. “I’ve arrived in Denver … You ain’t hearing me?? You don’t feel my pain? … So be it … See you all soon.”
On Sept. 27, Casillas sent a second email that included a different photograph of a submachine gun, with a silencer and two high-capacity magazines, the complaint says. He did not take either of the photos, according to the FBI.
On Sept. 28, he wrote Ibotta saying, “I am here in Colorado … I am ready equipped and ready to strike (retaliate to recover stolen funds).”
At 1:35 p.m. the same day, the suspect allegedly sent this message: “Top targets for sniper … Names of first row of serial deaths by assassination.” He then listed the names of seven company officials, including one with the word “decapitation” affixed as a suffix.
After the Oct. 4 email, company officials used the suspect’s IP address information and learned that the message came from Brooklyn, the complaint says. FBI agents tracked the source of the emails to an address in the borough.