Warning to readers: The court chat transcript below is graphic and contains violent language.
A withdrawal issue drove a Maryland man to threaten to murder multiple PrizePicks executives, blow up the company’s headquarters in Atlanta, and sexually assault the wives of some executives, according to an affidavit unsealed by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia April 8. Aaron John Sasser, per court documents, made the threats over a $50 withdrawal.
Sasser was arrested that same day. As reported Monday by Secure Stakes (which credited Seamus Hughes), the warrant was issued April 6 following a series of threats made by Sasser during an online chat — first with bots and then with humans.
The April 3 chat transcript reveals violent and antisemitic threats that escalated as Sasser clearly became more and more angry with his chat. Per court documents, the heated, graphic exchange lasted from at least 6:55 a.m.-7:19 a.m., and started with:
Hey there Mike Ybarra. You better leave town because I’m driving down to Atlanta to blow up the PrizePicks headquarters and then I’ll head to your house, tie you up and rape your wife in front of you. Then, I’ll dismember the both of you before heading off to Adam Wexlers place. I’m gonna have fun tying up Adam’s Zionist wife. Before that though, I’m gonna cut Adam’s eyelids off. So he’s forced to watch. Then I’m gonna blow his f***ing body up in the name of Palestine because he’s a Zionist piece of shit and every last one of them are going to die. Dont worry, I didn’t forget about you either Jay Deuskar. I’m not gonna rape your wife…..I’m gonna rape you. See yall at 3423 real soon
Ybarra is PrizePicks’ CEO, and Wexler and Deuskar founded the company, which offers daily fantasy sports contests and prediction market sports event contracts.
A world of disconnect
Sasser was apprehended April 8 and appeared in U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland that day. He was ultimately released on 24-hour-a-day house arrest to the custody of his father. Sasser was required to turn in his passport, refrain from drug use or possession, and submit to drug testing. He is also prohibited from using social media, engaging with any sort of live customer-chat function, or contacting Deuksar, Wexler, or Ybarra. The case has since been moved to federal court in Georgia. Per court filings, no additional court dates have been set.
In a world where chatbots and AI dominate customer service, there was a significant disconnect between Sasser’s terrifying words and the PrizePicks responses. While PrizePicks employees ultimately turned Sasser’s contact information and address over to the FBI, it took nearly a half an hour of online chat for the company’s bots and humans to indicate that they were taking the threats seriously and would alert authorities.
06:56 AM | [PrizePicks purple devil emoji] PrizePicks Support: I’ll connect you with someone from our team right away. While I do that, could you please share any additional details about your situation? This will help them assist you more effectively.
e. 06:56 AM | [email protected]: My situation? Sure. I’m currently on the way to Atlanta to kill every PrizePicks team member
f. 06:57 AM | [email protected]: Got my AR fully loaded & and extra two mags
g. 06:58 AM | [email protected]: I’ve got Mike Ybarra engraved on one of the bullet casings
h. 06:58 AM | [email protected]: And I’ll make sure I find out which one is Ainah & blow a f***ing massive hole in their dome for last night.
i. 06:59 AM | Rona from PrizePicks: Thank you for contacting PrizePicks – My name is Rona and I’ll be more than happy to assist you today! I’m so sorry for this inconvenience. Please allow me a few moments to look into this for you.
j. 06:59 AM | [email protected]: Wonder if you’ll get the point before everyone is dead, Mike Ybarra
k. 07:00 AM | [email protected]: Hey Rona, let everyone in the office know they’ll be dead before noon.
PP employee: Your account will be banned
At 7:02 a.m., according to court documents, a second PrizePicks employee identified as Mareze got on the chat with Sasser. Mareze was the first to warn him against making threats:
07:02 AM | Mareze from PrizePicks: Hi Aaron. This is Mareze, the supervisor on shift. PrizePicks takes it seriously when Members comment about physically appearing at our offices. If you do follow through on this threat and show up at a PrizePicks location, your account will be permanently banned and deactivated. All funds currently in your account will be returned to you and any pending lineups
will be canceled. We will alert all relevant authorities of your threat and we reserve the right to take additional legal action should we deem it necessary.
Sasser was unfazed:
m. 07:02 AM | [email protected]: Man, my account will be banned!? Oh no! How will I make bets and never get my money back if I’m in jail !? [scared face emoji]
The affidavit that revealed Sasser’s threats was submitted by FBI Special Agent Joshua Floyd April 6. The Maryland court appointed a public defender for Sasser.
