extortion

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Bo Jackson 'Hits Back Hard,' Wins $21M Settlement

Ex-MLB, NFL player wins verdict in extortion, stalking case against his niece and nephew

(Newser) - Former professional baseball and football player Vincent "Bo" Jackson has won a $21 million verdict in his civil case against his niece and nephew for trying to extort him. The Feb. 2 decision included a permanent protective order barring Thomas Lee Anderson and his sister, Erica Anderson Ross, from...

AMC CEO Sent Woman Photos, She Used Them to Extort Him

NY woman, convicted of cyberstalking, reportedly demanded $300K from Adam Aron

(Newser) - The CEO of AMC Theaters sent sexually explicit images and messages to a woman who later tried to extort hundreds of thousands of dollars from him. Adam Aron fessed up to the mess Thursday on X after Semafor identified him as the CEO involved in the case. "I became...

Extradited Nigerian Allegedly Pushed US Teen to Suicide

Samuel Ogoshi and his brother Samson accused in international 'sextortion' scheme

(Newser) - In March 2022, 17-year-old Jordan DeMay received a message over Instagram from someone threatening to make his nude photo go viral unless the teen coughed up $1,000. DeMay, a high school senior in Michigan, could afford only $300. "I'm kms rn [killing myself right now]. Bc [because]...

'Evil Genius' Dad Who Lived in Daughter's Dorm Gets 60 Years

Larry Ray sentenced after conviction in abuse case involving Sarah Lawrence students

(Newser) - Larry Ray, the dad convicted in April of sex trafficking and racketeering after moving into his daughter's Sarah Lawrence dorm and sexually, emotionally, and physically abusing her classmates, was sentenced to 60 years behind bars on Friday. Calling Ray an "evil genius," Judge Lewis Liman handed the...

Cops: Woman Scammed Own Mom in $140M Psychic Ruse

Sabine Boghici, 48, and accomplices are accused of conning her 82-year-old mother for years

(Newser) - A Brazilian woman was arrested this week and accused of recruiting a group of fake psychics to scam her own 82-year-old mother out of about $140 million in cash, artwork, and jewelry, reports the Washington Post . The alleged scheme began in January 2020, when Genevieve Boghici, the wealthy widow of...

Cops: American Tourist Ran Out of Cash, Faked Her Own Kidnapping

Police in India say she tried to extort money from her parents

(Newser) - Police in India say a "kidnapping" they were asked to investigate turned out to be an American woman's attempt to extort money from her own parents. Police say 27-year-old Chloe Mclaughlin arrived in New Delhi on May 3 and faked her own kidnapping earlier this month after she...

Criminals Use Google Ratings in Widespread Extortion Scam

Scammers are demanding $75, but the damage can cost restaurants a lot more

(Newser) - A new extortion scam is hitting popular restaurants from coast to coast. According to the New York Times, cyber criminals start by leaving a few one-star Google ratings, followed by an email threatening to continue the bombardment unless the victim forks over a $75 Google Play card. In their message,...

FBI Warns of Sexual Extortion's Tragic Toll

Young male victims sometimes only see shame, experts say, and can't find a way out

(Newser) - The FBI is increasing its efforts to warn parents and teenagers about sexual extortion scams that are leaving young people consumed by shame and, in some cases, pushed to commit suicide. The crime is not rare: Officials say more than 18,000 complaints related to what they call sextortion were...

'Dorm Dad From Hell' Found Guilty on All Counts

Lawrence Ray held a group of Sarah Lawrence students under his sway for years

(Newser) - Update: He may have enjoyed almost total control over the much younger Sarah Lawrence College students he pulled into his web after moving into their dorm, but Lawrence Ray can't say the same of the jury who heard his case. The 62-year-old was on Wednesday found guilty of all...

Big Twist in Case of Victimized Sarah Lawrence Students

Isabella Pollok, painted as a victim of Larry Ray, now charged as accomplice

(Newser) - An unexpected twist in a bizarre case involving a group of Sarah Lawrence students that came into the public consciousness by way of a lengthy story from the Cut . "What happened to the group of bright college students who fell under the sway of a classmate's father?" Ezra...

Vanessa Bryant Slams Mom's 'Unimaginably Hurtful' Suit

Kobe's widow says Sofia Laine is falsely claiming she worked as a personal assistant and nanny

(Newser) - A family feud between Kobe Bryant's widow and her own mom has accusations of broken promises and extortion flying. Sofia Laine, who filed a 48-page lawsuit against 38-year-old Vanessa Bryant, has claimed that she toiled away for years as the Bryants' "personal assistant and nanny," and that...

NFL Player's Charges Dropped, Accusers' Lawyer Is Arrested

Prosecutors say William Dean offered to make accusations go away for the right price

(Newser) - Monday brought a big role reversal, with an NFL player accused of taking $70,000 in cash and jewelry from four men at a Florida cookout in May seeing the charges against him dropped—and the men's lawyer arrested, charged with trying to extort $800,000 from former New...

Wealthy Alabama Man Survives 'Horrid Life Experience'

Elton B. Stephens Jr. was kidnapped and forced to pay a ransom, per court documents

(Newser) - A wealthy retired businessman in Birmingham, Ala., was kidnapped before he was forced to wire $250,000 to his captors in a "horrid life experience," according to the man's attorney. Around 1am on Sept. 11, intruders entered the rented home of Elton B. Stephens Jr., whose family...

Cop in Sexual Extortion Case Learns His Fate

Officer Miguel Deras has been fired

(Newser) - A police officer accused of showing off explicit images of a University of Utah student while investigating an extortion case she filed before her 2018 death has lost his job, officials said Friday, per the AP . Officer Miguel Deras' employment with the Logan City Police Department ended effective immediately after...

Cop Showed Off Her Pics at the Worst Time: Report

Officer Miguel Deras revealed student's nude photos: report

(Newser) - Looks like a cop really did show off Lauren McCluskey's explicit photos to male co-workers—including on the night she was killed, the Salt Lake Tribune reports. A report released Wednesday finds that Miguel Deras, the University of Utah police officer in charge of her sexual-extortion case , needlessly showed...

Russian Cop Plunges From Window After Testifying

Yekaterina Mishkina, 37, had testified against her former boss

(Newser) - A Russian police major plunged to her death not long after testifying against her old boss in a criminal-extortion case, the Moscow Times reports. The body of Yekaterina Mishkina, 37, was caught on security cameras lying near an apartment building in the city of Khabarovsk ( Russia.liveaumap.com has...

Avenatti Found Guilty of Attempt to Extort Nike
Michael
Avenatti
Found Guilty
Feb 14, 2020 2:41 PM CST

Michael Avenatti Found Guilty

Disgraced lawyer convicted of trying to extort Nike, faces long jail sentence

(Newser) - Michael Avenatti, the combative lawyer who gained fame by representing a porn star in lawsuits involving President Trump, was convicted Friday of trying to extort Nike, per the AP . The verdict was returned Friday by a federal jury in Manhattan following a three-week trial in which prosecutors said Avenatti threatened...

Prosecutors: Avenatti $15M in Debt at Time of Nike Extortion

Stormy Daniels' ex-attorney calls the claim 'absurd'

(Newser) - Prosecutors say California attorney Michael Avenatti was over $15 million in debt when he tried to extort up to $25 million from Nike, while Avenatti's lawyers say the money he legally requested to conduct an internal probe of the sportswear giant was a bargain. Both sides made the assertions...

Whitney Cummings Perfectly Deals With Photo Threats

When some tried to extort comedian over racy image, she reposted it herself

(Newser) - Comedian Whitney Cummings is winning plaudits for how she dealt with trolls' attempts to extort her over a racy image. Instead of caving to them, she reposted the image herself. "They all must think I'm way more famous than I am, but they also must think I'm...

Pic of US Teen Accused of Killing Italian Cop Raises Eyebrows

Blindfolding suspects is illegal in Italy, offending officer apparently made a 'mistake' in doing so

(Newser) - On June 19, Italian military officer Mario Cerciello Rega was married in his hometown of Somma Vesuviana. Now, his widow will attend his funeral Monday, at the same church where they were wed, after he was allegedly killed by two American teens, per ABC News . Gabriel Christian Natale Hjorth, 18,...

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