A 25-year-old aspiring actor who tried to extort money from movie mogul Harvey Weinstein and several other wealthy people has been arrested in connection with the scheme.
Vivek Shah, an actor and self-described entrepreneur who lives in West Hollywood, was arrested Aug. 10 by federal agents. They allege he sent letters to five wealthy people, each of which said members of their families would be killed unless they wired millions of dollars to offshore bank accounts. The Smoking Gun broke the news of the plot.
The affidavit against Shah doesn't name Weinstein, but it identifies a "Connecticut resident and co-founder of a film studio" as one of Shah's alleged targets. Weinstein lives in Westport, Conn., and co-founded Miramax Pictures with his brother Bob (the two now run The Weinstein Co.). Shah also allegedly targeted Christopher Cline, a billionaire and the majority owner of a West Virginia coal company, who is named...
Vivek Shah, an actor and self-described entrepreneur who lives in West Hollywood, was arrested Aug. 10 by federal agents. They allege he sent letters to five wealthy people, each of which said members of their families would be killed unless they wired millions of dollars to offshore bank accounts. The Smoking Gun broke the news of the plot.
The affidavit against Shah doesn't name Weinstein, but it identifies a "Connecticut resident and co-founder of a film studio" as one of Shah's alleged targets. Weinstein lives in Westport, Conn., and co-founded Miramax Pictures with his brother Bob (the two now run The Weinstein Co.). Shah also allegedly targeted Christopher Cline, a billionaire and the majority owner of a West Virginia coal company, who is named...
- 8/23/2012
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Pop2it
Vivek Shah, 25, arrested after allegedly threatening to kill family members of Miramax co-founder and four other individuals
An actor has been indicted for attempting to extort millions of dollars from the movie mogul Harvey Weinstein.
Vivek Shah, 25, who has had minor roles in films and television shows including Bones and Outsourced, was arrested last week after allegedly threatening to kill members of Weinstein's family unless he wired money to an offshore bank account.
Weinstein was one of five people to receive a written threat from Shah in the past two months, according to an affidavit signed by postal inspector Joshua Mehall. Shah demanded that each target wire millions of dollars to an offshore bank account or he would kill family members who were listed in the letter.
According to the affidavit, Shah's other targets include an Illinois resident who co-founded an internet company, a Floridian who founded an oil and...
An actor has been indicted for attempting to extort millions of dollars from the movie mogul Harvey Weinstein.
Vivek Shah, 25, who has had minor roles in films and television shows including Bones and Outsourced, was arrested last week after allegedly threatening to kill members of Weinstein's family unless he wired money to an offshore bank account.
Weinstein was one of five people to receive a written threat from Shah in the past two months, according to an affidavit signed by postal inspector Joshua Mehall. Shah demanded that each target wire millions of dollars to an offshore bank account or he would kill family members who were listed in the letter.
According to the affidavit, Shah's other targets include an Illinois resident who co-founded an internet company, a Floridian who founded an oil and...
- 8/23/2012
- by Amanda Holpuch
- The Guardian - Film News
A man accused of trying to extort film magnate Harvey Weinstein has been indicted on charges that he threatened to kill the relative of a coal company owner unless he received $13 million. Vivek Shah, 25, of West Hollywood, threatened to kill at least one member of Christopher Cline's family if Cline didn't wire the money to an offshore account, authorities said. Shah was arrested on Aug. 10, 2012, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in West Virginia. The criminal complaint said Shah sought handgun training only days before he was arrested. Shah...
- 8/23/2012
- by Tim Molloy
- The Wrap
The moral of the story? Don't mess with Harvey Weinstein. A D-list actor has been arrested for trying to extort millions from the legendary movie mogul by threatening the lives of his family. Per the Smoking Gun, Vivek Shah—a 25-year-old West Hollywood resident whose acting resume included bit roles in film, television and commercials—was taken into custody by federal agents on Aug. 10 at his parents' home in Schaumburg, Ill. In sworn affidavit by postal Inspector Joshua Mehall, Shah is accused of sending nearly identical letters to Weinstein and three billionaires, among them billionaire coal magnate Christopher Cline and Eric Lefkofsky, the cofounder of Groupon, threatening "to kill...
- 8/23/2012
- E! Online
West Virginia law-enforcement authorities have charged an aspiring actor with attempting to extort five rich individuals, including a movie studio executive believed to be Harvey Weinstein. According to criminal papers lodged against Vivek Shah, an actor living in West Hollywood, the defendant sent five substantially similar letters with threats to kill unless the amount of $13 million was transferred to an offshore bank account. One of the alleged victims is West Virginia coal magnate Christopher Cline. Other recipients of the letter are said to include a "Connecticut resident and co-founder of a film studio," "an Illinois resident
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- 8/23/2012
- by Eriq Gardner
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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