A man behind an extortion scheme against his business partner was arrested on Thursday, July 25 at 11 am after the victim contacted the Santa Monica Police Department.
What had led up to the arrest occurred over a period of time beginning on June 13, 2013 and ending on July 10, 2013.
The victim had informed the police that after declining a buyout affair from his business partner involving millions of dollars (that also included a civil lawsuit) an unknown female arrived at the victim’s office and over time became a significant social acquaintance.
Eventually this relationship culminated in an invitation by the female acquaintance to the victim requesting that he come to a hotel room.
Unbeknown to the victim the hotel room had been bugged with a hidden camera, and later on photographs of the “activities” that had taken place between the victim and the female were presented to the victim.
He was informed that if he did not accept the business partner’s offer for a buyout the photographs would be made public and his life would be destroyed.
The perpetrator of this crime was charged with attempted extortion.
Bail was set at $35,000.
Editor’s Note: These reports are part of a regular police coverage series entitled “Alert Police Blotter” (APB), which injects some minor editorial into certain police activities in Santa Monica. Not all of the Mirror’s coverage of incidents involving police are portrayed in this manner.
