A US man sent pipe bombs and threats of kidnappings and murders to investment firms and the head of a company in which he held stock in an attempt to artificially inflate stock prices, according to an indictment unsealed Wednesday.
John Tomkins, who called himself "The Bishop," is accused of sending 17 threatening letters and two pipe bombs over two years demanding that fund managers and executives manipulate the prices of two stocks: home entertainment company Navarre Corp and networking company 3Com Corp.
One of the letters contained a photograph of the home of an executive's assistant, threatening death and kidnapping if the price of 3Com stock was not manipulated to reach 6.66 dollars by the end of the month.
The pipe bombs sent to investment firms in Colorado and Missouri in January 2007 would have exploded if one wire had not been detached from a battery, law enforcement officials said in a press release.
They were accompanied by letters stating that "(t)he only reason you are still alive is because I did not attach one wire" and warning that "if you decide you want to keep the people around you safe, you will do as I say."
A letter was also sent to the head of Navarre, demanding that he increase the stock price to 6.66 dollars within 60 days by spreading false rumors that he was "taking the company private."
None of those threatened complied with his demands, the justice department said in a press release.
Tomkins, 42, was arrested in Iowa on April 25 and has been held in a Chicago jail since then.
He could face life in prison if convicted of securities fraud, mailing threatening letters with the intention to extort, using a destructive device while committing a violent crime and possession of two unregistered bombs.
