OAKLAND COUNTY, Mich. – Neighbors said they watched as federal agents, with weapons and shields drawn, forced their way into a Commerce Township home to arrest a man now charged in a federal cyberstalking and extortion case.
Federal authorities have charged 36-year-old Joshua Justin Stilman, who neighbors said lived on West Commerce Road, with cyberstalking and interstate threats to extort, according to court records.
In a criminal complaint, the FBI said Stilman used Instagram accounts “friendblender” and “thisDIYguy” to stalk and send AI-generated nude and pornographic images to women on social media, and would then threaten to post them online if they did not respond to him.
The complaint alleges one woman, a social media influencer, initially tried to defuse the messages with humor, but the correspondence became vulgar and escalated into threats of posting the AI-generated pornographic photos if she did not respond.
The complaint quotes Stilman saying, “Can you play along though?” “Easiest way to get rid of me lol.”
And: “You weren’t responding.” “I’m gonna expletive you one day. And I’ve got an expletive, so I’ll expletive deep.”
Other messages included:
“I wish you’d respond to some of my questions. I really don’t want to resort to posting things online. I have much more than you’ve seen. I’m really not trying to offend you either. I expletive off to you every day. I just want to know what you like. I’m not going to expect you to talk to me every day or even that often. But I want to know some naughty things about you.”
According to the complaint, the influencer began taking screenshots and screen recordings of the messages, but became so worried about her and her family’s safety that she removed personal information from her public website and began carrying a weapon.
The complaint also alleges Stilman threatened another woman by posting pornographic videos online without her consent.
FBI Detroit said they worked with FBI Portland to identify Stilman, who records show has a bench warrant out of Romulus for a traffic misdemeanor and was the subject of a recent mental-health call in Livonia in April of 2024.
Cybersecurity experts warn that anyone who receives similar messages should not engage or pay, and should document and report the incidents.
“The old way seemed to be more of a broad-based attack, if you will. A broad-based phishing. Now we’re seeing that real spear-phishing where they’re going after certain individuals, especially if they find them attractive or if they’re an influencer,” said Matt Loria, CEO of Auxiom and cybersecurity expert. “And definitely report it. I mean, you have to report these types of incidents or they don’t get dealt with.”
According to the complaint, one of the victims also reports she’s been talking to other women Stilman has reportedly threatened — going back to 2019 or 2020.