TLDR Aaron John Sasser of Maryland was arrested for allegedly sending death threats to PrizePicks CEO, founder, and CTO over $50 he couldn’t access in his account The threats were made through PrizePicks’ online customer service chat on April 3 and included violent language against executives and their spouses PrizePicks forwarded Sasser’s account information and digital ID to the FBI’s Atlanta office Sasser was released to his father’s custody under 24-hour home confinement and barred from gambling and social media The case adds to a growing pattern of threats against sports gaming industry figures linked to betting disputes
A Maryland man is facing federal charges after allegedly threatening to kill multiple PrizePicks executives over a $50 account dispute. The case highlights a growing concern about threats directed at people working in the sports betting and fantasy sports industry.
Aaron John Sasser was arrested earlier this month following threats he allegedly made through the PrizePicks online customer service chat on April 3. The chat session lasted at least 24 minutes, according to an FBI affidavit.
Sasser specifically threatened to kill PrizePicks CEO Mike Ybarra, founder and Executive Chairman Adam Wexler, and co-founder and CTO Jay Deuskar, the affidavit states. The threats also targeted the executives’ spouses.
The transcript included antisemitic language, according to the statement submitted by Special Agent Joshua Floyd.
“If my $50 doesn’t end up back in my bank account before 5pm today, I’m going to drive down to Atlanta, Georgia and kill everyone in the PrizePicks office,” Sasser wrote, according to the affidavit.
A chatbot initially handled the conversation before a customer service supervisor joined the chat. The supervisor warned Sasser that PrizePicks would permanently ban his account and report the interaction to law enforcement.
The company followed through on that warning. PrizePicks sent Sasser’s