Joran van der Sloot Charged with Fraud and Extortion in Birmingham

BIRMINGHAM—Federal prosecutors in Birmingham have filed a criminal complaint against JORAN VAN DER SLOOT, a citizen of the Netherlands, on wire fraud and extortion charges in connection with his soliciting money in May on promises he would reveal the location of Natalee Holloway’s remains in Aruba and circumstances of her death, U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance and FBI Special Agent in Charge Patrick Maley announced today.

“We are committed to protecting citizens from unscrupulous individuals who attempt to financially exploit a person’s deepest fears and greatest loss,” Vance said.

The wire fraud and extortion charges are unrelated to the ongoing murder investigation in Peru, in which van der Sloot is an alleged person of interest.

Vance said her office filed the two-count criminal complaint today in U.S. District Court in Birmingham.

The complaint charges that van der Sloot, on May 10, extorted $15,000 from an individual as partial payment toward his promise to reveal the location of Natalee Holloway’s remains for $250,000. The maximum sentence on the extortion count is 20 years in prison.

The complaint also charges van der Sloot with wire fraud for causing the $15,000 to be transferred by wire from a Birmingham bank to a bank in the Netherlands in furtherance of his scheme to defraud. The maximum sentence for the wire fraud count is 30 years.

Vance thanked Aruban authorities for the assistance they provided in this investigation.
 
Members of the public are reminded that the criminal complaint contains only charges. A defendant is presumed not guilty.