A Garrett Park man was sentenced to 37 months in prison for mailing threats to Jewish institutions and organizations, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Cliff Seferlis, 55, pleaded guilty to 17 counts of mailing threatening communications and eight counts of obstructing the free exercise of religious beliefs arising from threats sent to Jewish organizations.
In addition to prison time, he was also sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay a $40,000 fine, plus a $2,200 special assessment.
“For more than a year, the defendant terrorized Jewish communities across the country, robbing his victims of their peace and security,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon said. “The defendant’s sentence should be a warning to all that religious-based terror will not be tolerated in this country.”
According to court documents, from at least March 2024 through at least June 2025, Seferlis sent through the U.S. mail at least 40 letters and two postcards to more than 25 Jewish synagogues, Jewish museums, community centers, schools, nonprofit organizations and a Jewish delicatessen across mutliple jurisdictions.
Many of Seferlis’ written communications threatened to destroy physical buildings and/or injure individuals, according to the DOJ.
