Tracy Man Convicted of Making Harassing Phone Calls to U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission Employees and Another Individual

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — After a three–day trial, a federal jury found Kulwant (Ken) Singh Sandhu, 56, of Tracy, guilty today of two counts of making harassing interstate telephone calls, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced. The trial was held before U.S. District Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr.

“This conviction demonstrates the Office of Inspector General’s commitment to investigate individuals who harass SEC officials in carrying out their mission of protecting investors, maintaining fair and orderly functioning of securities markets, and facilitating capital formation. I would like to express my appreciation to the team from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the FBI, and the SEC OIG who worked diligently to bring this matter to justice.”

According to evidence presented at trial, since at least 2012, Sandhu has been making harassing phone calls to personnel at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), in Washington, D.C., and other private individuals. During 2015, Sandhu placed over 3,000 harassing phone calls to SEC employees, leaving at least 350 lengthy voicemails and also made hundreds of phone calls to another nongovernmental person. According to the evidence at trial, many of Sandhu’s phone calls to employees and his voicemails were profanity-filled tirades that repeatedly called for SEC personnel and others to be, among other things, rounded up, publicly hanged, water-boarded, burned alive, shot, and blown up with rockets and tanks. His comments were often sexually graphic and targeted individuals.

This case was the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Security & Exchange Commission’s Office of Inspector General. Assistant United States Attorneys Nirav Desai and James Conolly are prosecuting the case.

Sandhu is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Burrell on April 7, 2017. He faces a maximum statutory penalty of two years in prison on each count and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.