SHAH IN CUSTODY Actor Charged In Extortion Scheme Lodged In Local Jail
Reported by: Bethany Simmons
Web Producer: Bethany Simmons
Reported: Aug. 27, 2012 10:18 PM EDT
Updated: Aug. 28, 2012 6:34 PM EDT
Eyewitness News Photo
Charleston
, Kanawha County
, West Virginia
A struggling Hollywood actor accused of trying to extort money from a West Virginia businessman is in a local jail.
Vivek Shah has been in federal custody since his arrest earlier this month at his parents’ home in Illinois. He is now in the Southern Regional Jail in Beckley awaiting arraignment. Shah is named in an indictment that claims he sent threatening letters to West Virginia coal executive Chris Cline and four other people, including movie producer Harvey Weinstein.
If convicted on all charges, he faces up to 20 years in prison.
The defense attorney for a man accused of trying to extort millions of dollars from several different people urged everyone to wait until the facts come out before reaching any conclusions.
Hollywood Actor Vivek Shah is named in an indictment that claims he sent threatening letters to West Virginia Coal Executive Chris Cline and four others.
Shah is accused of asking for millions of dollars and threatening to kill the recipients’ family members unless he was paid.
He faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted on all four counts.
"Certainly, in the very beginning, everything will feel sensational. But then you have to let a little bit of sunshine in, you have to let a little bit of time pass and then you have to begin ferretting into what we call the devil's in the details. And it's very important to get into the details so you can figure out exactly what is real, what is not real and begin to deal with the actual facts,” Troy Giatras, Shah's defense attorney, said.
Shah has been in federal custody since his arrest earlier this month at his parent's home in Illinois. He is expected to be flown to West Virginia sometime this week.
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Bethany Simmons
