Julio Aguilar/Getty Images
Benjamin Tucker Patz, a New York-based sports bettor, has been charged with transmitting threats in interstate or foreign commerce stemming from when he used Instagram to send direct messages to players for the Tampa Bay Rays and Chicago White Sox in 2019.
Per the official filing from the United States Attorney's Office, charges were brought after a criminal complaint was filed against Patz for making "numerous threats to carry out violence against professional athletes and/or their family members via Instagram messages, using anonymous accounts."
Patz sent direct messages to four Rays players and one White Sox player on Instagram using anonymous accounts in which he threatened to behead them or members of their family.