FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – A Mississippi man pleaded guilty on Tuesday to several counts of threatening interstate communication and cyberstalking, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced.

According to court documents, 43-year-old William Lee Robinson of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, worked at a business in Fresno from June to November 2017. After the business fired him, Robinson began sending threatening messages to his former supervisor and other co-workers in an attempt to extort them for money.

The DOJ says these threats included graphic statements threatening to physically harm co-workers and a former supervisor’s daughter. Robinson made threats because he wanted the company to pay him between $10,000 and $20,000 to cover the fees of relocating to a different city.

According to attorneys, Robinson pleaded guilty to five counts of sending threatening interstate communications and three counts of cyberstalking, facing 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count of sending threatening interstate communications as well as five years and a $250,000 fine for each count of cyberstalking.