Jail term for terrorizing complaining customers
Source: Agencies |
September 8, 2012, Saturday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
AN eyewear website operator who threatened some of his customers with murder or rape when they complained about their eyeglasses has been given four years in jail by a judge who said he terrorized them.
Vitaly Borker, 35, shook his head and wiped his hand across his eyes as US District Judge Richard Sullivan announced on Thursday the sentence, along with nearly US$100,000 in fines and restitution.
The judge noted that several people who testified at a July hearing said they called police or installed security systems because of threats Borker made after they complained about their glasses.
"You were terrifying people, putting them in fear of their lives, of being viciously raped," the judge said.
Borker pleaded guilty last year to making threats and fraud charges. Prosecutors said more than 200 complaints against him had been filed with the Federal Trade Commission over the operation of his website, DecorMyEyes.com, between 2007 and 2010.
Borker, jailed since July, said he was "genuinely and deeply sorry for the awful threats that I made." He said he never intended on carrying out the threats. "I had a big mouth I couldn't control, and it ruined my life," he said.
At the July hearing, a Chicago resident testified that Borker harassed her for a month and a half after she tried to take advantage of the website's money-back guarantee. She said he left her a voicemail message, saying: "I hope you die. I want to slice your legs off."
Vitaly Borker, 35, shook his head and wiped his hand across his eyes as US District Judge Richard Sullivan announced on Thursday the sentence, along with nearly US$100,000 in fines and restitution.
The judge noted that several people who testified at a July hearing said they called police or installed security systems because of threats Borker made after they complained about their glasses.
"You were terrifying people, putting them in fear of their lives, of being viciously raped," the judge said.
Borker pleaded guilty last year to making threats and fraud charges. Prosecutors said more than 200 complaints against him had been filed with the Federal Trade Commission over the operation of his website, DecorMyEyes.com, between 2007 and 2010.
Borker, jailed since July, said he was "genuinely and deeply sorry for the awful threats that I made." He said he never intended on carrying out the threats. "I had a big mouth I couldn't control, and it ruined my life," he said.
At the July hearing, a Chicago resident testified that Borker harassed her for a month and a half after she tried to take advantage of the website's money-back guarantee. She said he left her a voicemail message, saying: "I hope you die. I want to slice your legs off."
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