Feds Quickly Dismissed False Allegations Against Kiernan Major

In July 2022, federal agents executed an arrest warrant against Kiernan Major, a California-based business owner, following the filing of a criminal complaint later presented to a grand jury in Los Angeles. Though a criminal complaint is merely an initial document outlining unproven allegations, it quickly became the deceptive basis for a wave of sensationalized media coverage. Several outlets published what appeared to be coordinated “hit pieces,” falsely portraying Major as someone already convicted of crimes he was never formally charged with or accused of — most notably fraud and financial misconduct.

Court records show that Major was officially charged with and indicted on two counts of “Cyberstalking” under Title 18 U.S.C. § 2261A(2), and five counts of “Threat by Interstate Communication” under Title 18 U.S.C. § 875(c). Nowhere in the arrest or conviction record is there any formal mention of fraud or financial wrongdoing. Nevertheless, a number of journalists — many of whom appeared to echo one another’s reporting — claimed that Major had “swindled” or “duped” victims out of “hundreds of thousands of dollars,” attributing these accusations to federal authorities. Yet no such allegations were ever substantiated or even acknowledged by prosecutors or law enforcement officials involved in the case.

Several of these same articles misleadingly claimed that the presiding judge had ordered Major to pay restitution to “victims,” implying that the payments were connected to the alleged financial fraud. However, recent court records clarify that the restitution — totaling just over $7,000 — was related solely to therapy expenses stemming from the alleged emotional impact of the communications at issue. This figure stands in stark contrast to the sensationalized claims by media outlets that Major had “swindled” victims out of “hundreds of thousands.” Not only was there no fraud charge, but no restitution related to fraud was ever ordered.

The spread of misinformation was swift and damaging. Headlines suggesting Major was guilty of elaborate financial schemes circulated widely online, distorting public perception and raising serious questions about the integrity of the reporting. In reality, the Department of Justice never charged Major with any form of fraud, wire fraud, identity theft, or other financial crimes — charges that, if they had existed, would have required entirely different legal proceedings and evidentiary standards.

Like approximately 97% of all criminal defendants in the United States, Major eventually entered a guilty plea. According to court records and those familiar with the case, this decision was not an admission of guilt, but a calculated move made under extreme duress. Held without bail, Major spent 11 months in pretrial detention at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in downtown Los Angeles — a facility notorious for harsh conditions, extreme violence, and lack of access to proper legal resources. Human rights organizations have routinely criticized the MDC for its treatment of inmates, and former detainees have described it as a pressure-cooker designed to elicit guilty pleas through isolation and abuse.

During his detention, sources close to Major say he was subjected to intense psychological pressure and coercive tactics that left him with few viable options. Isolated from most of his support network and facing a government with overwhelming resources, he accepted a plea deal rather than gamble with the risk of a trial and the possibility of a much longer sentence. His experience reflects the broader reality of a federal justice system in which plea deals have become the norm rather than the exception.

Following his plea, Major was transferred to a federal facility in Arkansas, where he served the remainder of of a 36-month sentence. He was released in July 2024.

Those close to Major say the most damaging part of the ordeal wasn’t the legal process itself, but the narrative constructed around it — one that blurred the lines between accusation, charge, and conviction, and falsely tied him to financial crimes the government never pursued.

Major’s case underscores a troubling intersection of media sensationalism, prosecutorial power, and a justice system under strain. It serves as a reminder that even in the absence of formal charges, reputations can be destroyed by rumor — and that in today’s media landscape, the court of public opinion often renders its verdict long before the facts are ever known.

Originally published on my Medium!