Brother of suspended state police official says evidence points to account being hacked

ALBANY, N.Y. (WRGB) — What did investigators know before searching the of one of New York State Police’s highest-ranking officials?

That’s among the questions being raised by the brother of Lt. Col. Jared Duffy, who was suspended without pay as an investigation into suspicious activity on an old social media account was turned over to the FBI.

Trevor Duffy, a Buffalo attorney, told CBS6 he believes State Police rushed the investigation and failed to adequately examine evidence suggesting someone else had gained access to his brother’s account.

“I don’t think the evidence was there to justify the warrant application,” Trevor Duffy said in an interview with CBS6.

The investigation began after an X account associated with Jared Duffy was used to promote content linked to sexually explicit images of children. State Police investigators executed a warrant at his last week.

But Trevor argues the online activity that prompted the should have raised immediate questions whether his brother was actually behind the posts.

He provided CBS6 with what appears to be a security notification from X, dated Sept. 12, showing that the email address associated with Jared Duffy’s account had been changed.

The notification warned the account holder to reset the password if the change was unauthorized.

The X account was created in 2009 and had been largely inactive for years. Then, on Sept. 22, roughly 10 days after the email change, it suddenly became active.

According to Trevor’s research, 22 posts and reposts appeared on the account over approximately 12 hours, including content promoting a Telegram channel associated with sexually explicit material.

Trevor said the activity was far from isolated.

“My further research showed that whoever tweeted out those messages was also controlling 27 other accounts simultaneously over the course of a week, promoting the same type of material, crypto and Telegram channels promoting pornography,” he said.

An analysis shared with CBS6 examined more than 1,000 archived posts involving 26 social media accounts. It identified a pattern of rapid, sequential posting and reposting across multiple accounts, with the activity beginning days before Jared Duffy’s account became involved.

Trevor believes the findings point to a coordinated operation rather than activity initiated by his brother.

“It’s like, what logic would it be for someone in their own name to promote illegal stuff?” he said.

The documents do not independently establish who controlled the account or conclusively prove it was hacked. However, Trevor maintains that the suspicious activity should have prompted further scrutiny before investigators sought a warrant to his brother’s .

“I believe the State Police deviated from their normal procedures in this investigation,” Trevor said.

He also questioned why the FBI was not consulted before the warrant was executed, arguing that investigators should have sought federal assistance earlier.

“I do think it’s a smear campaign,” he said.

The investigation has since been turned over to the FBI, while Jared Duffy remains suspended without pay.

Investigators had previously indicated they found no evidence of misconduct.

CBS6 asked State Police to explain the basis for Duffy’s suspension, but declined to .

The FBI has confirmed it was asked to take over the case last week but has declined further .

No criminal charges against Jared Duffy have been announced.