Findlay man implicated in federal case

FINDLAY — Simon Tuck, a Findlay resident and former board member of The Center for Safe and Healthy Children has been implicated in a federal stalking case involving an alleged harassment campaign against a local couple. According to an FBI affidavit, Tuck targeted the victims, people he knew and worked with, between November 2025 and February 2026, repeatedly harassing and intimidating them through false reports, threats and online impersonation. Court documents indicate Tuck was investigated by the FBI for allegedly falsely accusing the victims of using and selling drugs in the workplace, sexual assault, adultery and assault of juveniles. Tuck also is accused of making a false report to the FBI's National Threat Operations center, claiming the victim was planning to carry out a mass-casualty event at the Detroit Metro Airport and a mass shooting. "The purpose of these false reports, known as 'swatting,' is to force a law enforcement response and confrontation with the victim in order to cause the victim physical, emotional and/or reputational harm, which can also risk possible death due to rapidly escalating critical response by law enforcement," the affidavit states. Tuck allegedly made death threats to the victims while pretending to be associated with Sector16, a Russian hacking group. In early February, one victim received emails from a funeral home and church after emails, allegedly sent by Tuck while impersonating the victim, requested information about funeral arrangements and suggested the victim intended to die by suicide. When FBI agents seized Tuck's personal devices, they found threats routed through an IP address associated with TOR, a tool used to mask online activity, the affidavit states. Investigators also discovered more than 200 pornographic images of one victim, which the affidavit states were generated using Grok, an artificial-intelligence built by XAI. It also states one of the victims was videotaped by Tuck's home security cameras while using workout equipment at Tuck's residence. Agents also found an installed program called KillDisk, a computer program that can be used to delete data from electronic devices so that it cannot be recovered by forensic tools. "This program is known to be used extensively by cyber and sophisticated criminals," the affidavit states. "While it can be used by individuals before selling a used device, there is no legitimate reason to routinely use the program on a computer other than to prevent law enforcement from finding incriminating data. Documentation found on the computer indicated that Tuck utilized this program on multiple occasions." Tuck was arrested Feb. 20 and booked at the Lucas County Jail. The federal case remains pending.