Cindy Crawford The Latest Celeb To Become Victim Of Extortion
Supermodel Cindy Crawford and her husband Rande Gerber are the latest celebs to get sucked into an extortion plot.
Last month, late night host David Letterman revealed to his audience in a monologue how he'd become a victim of extortion based on information about Letterman having sex with female staffers. Letterman chose to go to the police and weather the media storm, rather than payoff the extortionist, former CBS employee Robert Halderman.
Actor John Travolta is still dealing with an extortion plot involving the death of his 16-year old son Jett this past January while John, wife Kelly Preston and their family vacationed in the Bahamas. That extortion plot involved a paramedic and a former Bahamian senator who attempted to extort $25 million from the Travoltas claiming they had proof that medical decisions made by the parents led to their son's death. The case is being re-tried since the first ended in a mistrial.
Cindy Crawford and husband, restaurateur Rande Gerber, were approached by a man who claimed to have a photo of the couple's then 7-year old daughter tied up in a chair and gagged. The photo, which was orchestrated by their former nanny was described as being part of a "prank" she was going to play on Crawford. Not a smart move to pull on one's employer. This already sounds 20 hues of shady.
CNN reports a German man, Edis Kayalar, who has since been deported because of the case, is being charged with one count of extortion. Kayalar made contact with Crawford, stating he'd gotten her number from the former nanny's cell phone, whom he'd met at a bar while she still worked for the couple. Claiming he was trying to be a "good person," Kayalar said he stole the photo so he could give it back to them before it was leaked to tabloids,
