Jason White, 43, pleaded guilty in March to two federal counts of stalking and demanding $300,000 from his former employer. He sent dozens of emails and text messages to dealer Robert Bane, and made threats against the families of artists whom he worked with while at Bane's gallery.

White also set up websites that stated Bane and the artists were engaged in international fraud and used sweatshops to produce art to sell. He told the victims that he would only take the sites down if they paid him

U.S. district judge Stephen V. White described White's crimes as "very disturbing" in a news release from the US Attorney's Office. The FBI arrested White on Feb. 12 after the emails and texts had been sent over a six-month period.