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Press Release

Adam Winters Sentenced For Extortion Of Babcock And Wilcox, Y-12, LLC.

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Tennessee

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – On Nov. 17, 2014, Adam Winters, 25, of Oneida, Tenn., was sentenced to serve three months in prison as a result of his July 2014 guilty plea to charges involving the extortion of Babcock and Wilcox, Y-12, LLC. Upon his release from prison, Winters will be supervised for one year by U.S. Probation. 17, 2014

In July 2014, Winters pleaded guilty to transmitting communications containing threats to injure the reputation of Babcock and Wilcox, Y-12, LLC., in interstate and foreign commerce, with intent to extort money and other things of value from the corporation. Babcock and Wilcox, Y-12, LLC. (Babcock and Wilcox), is a corporation that manages and operates the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tenn.

Winters admitted that he emailed Babcock and Wilcox and attempted to email the Vice President of the United States, regarding copies of slides the he possessed, which contained information he believed would injure the reputation of Babcock and Wilcox. Following the email, he used the Internet and telephone, both of which are transmitted in interstate or foreign commerce, and communicated his threat to injure their reputation through the use of these slides. After making these threats, Winters met with undercover law enforcement agents to exchange the slides for $2,500,000, that he had demanded from Babcock and Wilcox during his extortion attempt. During this exchange meeting, law enforcement officers revealed their identity and arrested him.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brooklyn Sawyers represented the United States.

Updated March 18, 2015