Hacker Sends Hate-Filled Midnight Emails To 400+ Fort Lee Condo Residents, Prosecutor Says

Authorities said a Montclair man was charged with breaking into a Fort Lee condominium’s communication system and sending hateful, threatening emails to hundreds of residents.

Scarano, Nicholas M.

Prosecutor Mark Musella announced on Saturday that Nicholas M. Scarano, 23, of Montclair, was taken into custody on Friday, Aug. 15, one day after the Cyber Crimes Unit of the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office received a bulk email that contained hateful and intimidating content.

According to Musella, the email was distributed overnight to 411 occupants of the Atrium Palace condominium complex. Investigators discovered that an unidentified person had illegally accessed the building’s internet management and communication system and sent two messages, both of which contained explicit language directed toward African Americans and Jews.

According to Musella, investigators linked the online activity to Scarano’s Montclair internet connection. Investigators found that Scarano used two devices to access the system and transmit the threatening communications after a court-authorized search warrant was performed at his residence on August 15, according to police.

Why Scarano targeted that particular building was not immediately apparent. According to Scarano’s LinkedIn profile, from May 2024 until February 2025, he worked as a Campus Security Supervisor.

Prosecutors said Scarano was placed under remand to the Bergen County Jail until he appeared in Bergen County Superior Court in Hackensack for the first time.

He was accused of third-degree internet criminal activity, third-degree false public alarm, third-degree terroristic threats, and second-degree bias intimidation.

The allegations are only accusations, according to prosecutor Musella, and the defendant is presumed innocent until and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. He expressed gratitude to the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, the Fort Lee Police Department, the Montclair Police Department, the Millburn Police Department, the Paramus Police Department, the Washington Township Police Department, and others for their support.