CHARLESTON, WV—U.S. Attorney Booth
Goodwin today announced that Vivek Shah, 25, of West Hollywood, California, has
been indicted by a federal grand jury in Charleston, West Virginia, on charges
arising from a multi-million-dollar extortion attempt. The indictment alleges
Shah sent a prominent West Virginian a letter threatening to kill a relative of
the letter’s recipient unless $13 million was wired to an offshore bank account
by June 28, 2012.
The letter identified several of the
recipient’s relatives by name, the indictment says. According to the
indictment, Shah later sent the victim wiring instructions for a bank account
in Cyprus, along with a second copy of the original threatening letter.
Shah was arrested on August 10, 2012,
pursuant to an arrest warrant issued in the Southern District of West Virginia.
The arrest warrant was issued in response to a criminal complaint containing
allegations related to those in the indictment announced today. The criminal
complaint reveals Shah sought out handgun training only days before he was
arrested.
The indictment charges Shah with two
counts of interference with commerce by threats and two counts of transmitting
threatening communications in interstate commerce. If convicted on all counts
of the indictment, Shah faces up to 40 years in prison.
The indictment results from an
investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Pittsburgh, Los Angeles,
and Chicago Divisions and the United States Postal Inspection Service. Counsel
to the United States Attorney Steve Ruby is handling the prosecution.
The charges contained in the indictment
are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until
proven guilty.
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