NC man sues ‘jealous’ ex-wife, says she’s cost him thousands by hacking his accounts
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Editor’s Note: Martin James Brooks and Jenifer Serio agreed to dismiss the lawsuit described in this article on Aug. 31, 2020, according to court filings signed by their attorneys.
A woman in North Carolina is accused of hacking into her ex-husband’s iCloud account, creating a fake Instagram profile in his name and trying to access his bank records.
He’s suing, but she says this isn’t the first time.
Martin James Brooks — the owner and CEO of an audio visual and staging production company in Asheville — accused his ex-wife, Jennifer Serio, of violating computer protection statutes when she allegedly accessed his various social media, work and bank accounts earlier this year.
“Since the parties’ divorce, (Serio) has grown increasingly jealous and vengeful towards (Brooks) and purposefully sought to harm and cause damage to the plaintiff and his business,” Brooks said in a June complaint.
Serio fired back in a motion to dismiss Monday, telling a federal judge in western North Carolina to drop the case because her ex-husband already tried the same claims in state court — and had them dismissed.
Counsel for both parties did not immediately respond Tuesday to McClatchy news group’s request for comment.
According to the initial complaint, Serio “infiltrated” Brooks’ accounts online without his permission after they divorced in June 2018. The pair were married for 16 years, according to the lawsuit.
Pointing to specific instances in May, Brooks said Serio accessed a text conversation with his current girlfriend and sent her screenshots of his “previous conversations with other women.”
That same day, she is accused of creating a fake Instagram profile using his name and photo.
“Using this fake Instagram profile, defendant followed several other Instagram accounts showcasing sexually explicit or suggestive images in an attempt to misrepresent his character and damage plaintiff’s reputation,” the complaint states. “Defendant also followed the account of plaintiff’s business and his associates with the intent to embarrass and harm the plaintiff.”
Brooks said Serio also accessed his business Dropbox account and tried to destroy records, then allegedly made “excessive attempts” at resetting his online banking passcode through Bank of America.
He says he spent $5,000 revamping his cybersecurity protection to thwart her efforts.
Serio rebutted his allegations in a dismissal bid Monday, pointing to a suit filed in state court three weeks before this litigation that would bar the current claims.
“This action is the third lawsuit filed by Mr. Brooks against Ms. Serio within the past year and a half, and it constitutes the second of three attempts by Mr. Brooks to use the same factual allegations and claims against Ms. Serio,” her motion to dismiss states.
The suit in state court included a domestic violence protective order and claims of revenge porn, cyberstalking and defamation, according to the motion. It was dismissed voluntarily shortly after being filed, according to court documents.
Serio said a judicial doctrine known as res judicata that bars parties from relitigating “prior resolved claims” should prevent this case from moving forward.
Court documents show Brooks’ response is due Sept. 9.
This story was originally published August 27, 2019 at 5:42 PM.
