Latest news with #extortion
CTV News
7 hours ago
- CTV News
Extortion attempts: 3 more suspects arrested after Plateau-Mont-Royal bar shot up
An SPVM police vehicle is seen in Montreal, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi Three more suspects have been arrested as part of Montreal police's ongoing investigation into extortion attempts targeting local bars and restaurants. The three arrests, made last Wednesday by the EMAF anti-gun squad, were in relation to a shooting at a bar on Mont-Royal Avenue East in the Plateau-Mont-Royal borough. No injuries were reported when the front door was shot up at 2:45 a.m. on May 2. The people arrested are between the ages of 20 and 34, according to police, and are part of a third wave of arrests related to the shooting. After the incident, three initial suspects were arrested: two men and a woman, all aged between 18 and 19. On June 5, a second wave of arrests was carried out when officers handcuffed two men, aged 19 and 26. All eight suspects were released on a promise to appear in court at a later date and 'are suspected of having played an active role in a series of violent incidents of an intimidating nature targeting a group of business owners,' police said in a news release. Police say their investigation continues. This latest development comes less than a month after police carried out major raids and arrested 13 suspects with alleged ties to a series of extortion attempts. Businesses have been targeted by gunfire and arson in the last several months as organized crime groups demand protection money from owners or face more violence. Montreal police are reminding bar owners who are victims of threats not to give in to intimidation tactics and to immediately call the SPVM, which has special teams with the expertise needed to investigate such cases, the force added.
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Judge Dismisses Jay-Z's Extortion, Defamation Lawsuit Against Tony Buzbee
A California judge reversed course again Monday and fully dismissed Jay-Z's extortion and defamation case against Texas lawyer Tony Buzbee. In a 65-page ruling, Los Angeles County Judge Mark Epstein said he was not 'wholly satisfied' with his decision, but he tried to balance the competing interests at play and would wait for the Court of Appeal to step in to determine whether he was 'right or wrong.' He ended his ruling with the phrase, 'stay tuned.' More from Rolling Stone Chris Brown's Lawsuit Over Alleged Nightclub Attack Dismissed by Accuser Bryan Kohberger to Plead Guilty in Idaho College Killings State Department Revokes Bob Vylan's Visa Over Glastonbury Performance Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, sued Buzbee last year with claims the high-profile Houston attorney knew he was peddling lies when he filed a lawsuit accusing Carter of being the male celebrity who raped a 13-year-old girl alongside Sean 'Diddy' Combs at a New York party 25 years ago. Carter claims Buzbee sent him two demand letters in early November to squeeze him for money. He claims that weeks later, Buzbee named him as a co-defendant in the Jane Doe's lawsuit against Combs because he refused to pay up in a secret settlement. 'There is no demand for a particular sum of money, although that is not enough to protect the Letters. The real problem for Carter is that the mediation request is about the sexual abuse allegations underpinning a potential civil case, and nothing else. There are no extraneous allegations as to publicizing other unrelated and unsavory things related to Carter and there are no promises to refrain from going to law enforcement if Carter agrees to mediate and does settle,' Epstein wrote in his long-awaited decision. 'While it is true that the alleged conduct here constitutes criminal activity, defendants fall well short of threatening to go to the police unless Carter pays up,' Epstein said. 'Selling silence as to law enforcement for money is extortion, but there is no promise of silence in the criminal context here. And selling silence for money in the civil context is not extortion; it is a settlement with a non-disclosure element.' 'We are surprised and disappointed by this ruling which turns on the misapplication of California law on the admissibility of the investigators' statements,' Carter's lawyer, Alex Spiro, tells Rolling Stone in a statement. 'Notably, the Judge expressly states that his decision would have 'change[d] dramatically' if he had admitted the statements into evidence as they would have shown 'not only that Carter had nothing to do with any sexual assault on Doe, but that Buzbee knew it…' and thus 'the court would come out the other way on this motion.' 'What does it say about our justice system if someone can knowingly bring about completely false claims of the most heinous nature imaginable against an innocent individual and get away with it on a technicality?' Spiro adds. 'We plan to appeal this case immediately.' 'Yet another huge win!!' Buzbee wrote on X. 'John Doe's case against me and The Buzbee Law Firm alleging extortion and defamation was thrown out by the court. As I said when it was filed, the case was completely meritless. We will now seek attorneys' fees against John Doe for bringing the legally flawed case.' At a hearing in February, Epstein said he was leaning toward only allowing some of Carter's defamation claims to proceed. Then at a subsequent hearing in March, he signaled he had changed his mind and was inclined to let the Roc Nation founder proceed with his extortion claim as well. He said he reconsidered his position based on stunning new evidence collected by private investigators and submitted by Jay-Z's lawyers. The new evidence was a recorded a conversation between investigators and the Jane Doe on her front porch in Alabama in February. The woman allegedly said, 'It was more Diddy, but Buzbee brought Jay-Z into it.' She appeared to tell the investigators that it was Buzbee who 'pushed' her into publicly naming Jay-Z as one of her assailants. 'If the evidence can be considered — and the court believes it can be considered for this motion — it supports not only the defamation cause of action but also the extortion cause of action,' Judge Mark Epstein wrote in his tentative ruling issued in March. 'If one accepts Doe's statements to the investigators at face value, then she at least inferentially did not authorize the settlement letter to be sent or even conclude that she was going to sue Carter at the time the [letter was] mailed. Without a present intent to bring a lawsuit, the litigation privilege will fail.' Rolling Stone previously obtained a portion of the alleged doorstep discussion with the Jane Doe. In the snippet, one of the investigators specifically asked if Doe was saying that Jay-Z, born Shawn Carter, was at the afterparty but 'didn't have anything to do with the any sexual acts towards you.' 'Yeah,' Doe replied. The other investigator then asked if it was Buzbee who suggested Jay-Z had a role in the alleged attack following the MTV Video Music Awards in 2000. 'He was the one that kind of pushed me towards going forward with him, with Jay-Z,' the woman replied. Buzbee's lawyers fought the admissibility and relevance of the conversation. Carter then submitted the recording to the judge, and he reviewed it before issuing his ruling. He noted that the conversation was 'not as clear as either party would like,' and that Jane Doe now reports she felt intimidated and threatened by the investigators. He said, ultimately, it appeared to the court that Doe's interest in the interview was to go along with the suggestions the investigators made. 'It was in Doe's interest to go along with the investigators here because that way she would not be sued for malicious prosecution; it was in Doe's interest to go along with the investigators here because that would keep her name out of the press,' he wrote. 'All of that said, the situation would change, and change dramatically, if the investigators' declarations as to the conversation with Doe were admissible for the truth of what Doe stated,' Epstein wrote. 'If that were the case, then there would be some evidence not only that Carter had nothing to do with any sexual assault on Doe, but that Buzbee knew it in the sense that (according to Doe) it was Buzbee that kept pressing to get Doe to implicate Carter.' When Jay-Z first sued Buzbee anonymously in November, he claimed the high-powered Houston attorney was 'shamelessly' trying to extort him while representing dozens of plaintiffs with claims against indicted music mogul Sean Combs. Three weeks later, Buzbee filed the amended complaint naming Carter as the male celebrity who allegedly raped Doe alongside Combs when she was a minor. Carter immediately — and vehemently — denied Doe's allegations and confirmed he was the John Doe who filed the extortion lawsuit. The Jane Doe went on to voluntarily dismiss her entire complaint against Carter and Combs with prejudice — meaning it can't be filed again — on Feb. 14 after admitting there were inconsistencies in her story. Since then, Carter has filed a separate defamation lawsuit against Doe in Alabama, claiming she and Buzbee engaged in an 'evil conspiracy' to extort him with the 'completely fabricated' and 'wildly horrific' rape claim. In a sworn statement, Carter said that he considered Buzbee's demand letter an 'existential threat.' 'I felt that Mr. Buzbee was placing a gun to my head that I either bow to his demands or endure personal and financial ruin. His actions caused me mental anguish about the ticking time bomb and what it would do to me, my family, and my hard-earned reputation,' he wrote. Combs, meanwhile, is currently on trial for sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy, and transportation to engage in prostitution. If convicted as charged, he faces 15 years to life in prison. Combs has been sued by dozens of plaintiffs alleging sexual misconduct. The music mogul, 55, denies any wrongdoing. 'No matter how many lawsuits are filed, it won't change the fact that Mr. Combs has never sexually assaulted or sex-trafficked anyone — man or woman, adult or minor,' his lawyers previously told Rolling Stone. 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Bloomberg
11 hours ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
US Probes Ex-Ransom Negotiator Accused of Scheming With Hackers
Law enforcement officials are investigating a former employee of a company that negotiates with hackers and facilitates cryptocurrency payments during ransomware attacks, according to a statement from the firm, DigitalMint. DigitalMint President Marc Jason Grens this week told organizations it works with that the US Justice Department is examining allegations that the then-employee struck deals with hackers to profit from extortion payments, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Justin Baldoni Visits Disneyland Amid Blake Lively Lawsuit
Justin Baldoni stepped out at Disneyland shortly after a major legal update involving his $400 million countersuit against Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds. As videos of the actor's public outing circulated online, the legal battle surrounding defamation and extortion claims continued to unfold behind the scenes. Here's what Baldoni's appearance reveals amid the lawsuit's dismissal and what both sides have said about the ongoing case. Justin Baldoni visited Disneyland's California Adventure Park over the weekend, just days after the court dismissed his $400 million countersuit against Blake Lively. TikTok videos posted on June 28 show Baldoni smiling, wearing a Star Wars shirt, and interacting with fans as he walked through the crowd. In one video, he approached a fan named Carmen who had been filming him, prompting a rush of attention from nearby parkgoers. The sighting came shortly after Baldoni's attorney, Bryan Freedman, announced that the actor would not amend his legal claims. On June 9, Judge Lewis J. Liman granted a motion to dismiss Baldoni's countersuit against Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, and her publicist Leslie Sloane. The judge also dismissed a related lawsuit against The New York Times. While the ruling allowed for amendments on certain claims, Baldoni opted not to refile. Freedman said in a June 24 statement to People, 'The Court's decision on the motion to dismiss has no effect whatsoever on the truth that there was no harassment nor any smear campaign, and it does not in any way affect our vigorous defense against Ms. Lively's claims.' He added, 'Discovery is proceeding and we are confident that we will prevail against these factually baseless accusations.' Blake Lively responded through her legal team, Esra Hudson and Mike Gottlieb, stating: 'Today's opinion is a total victory and a complete vindication for Blake Lively, along with those that Justin Baldoni and the Wayfarer Parties dragged into their retaliatory lawsuit, including Ryan Reynolds, Leslie Sloane and The New York Times.' The spokesperson added, 'The Court's dismissal of Baldoni's sham lawsuit was a total victory after all' (via US Weekly). The court denied Lively and Reynolds' motions for fees and damages without prejudice. Baldoni and Lively return to court in December 2024. The post Justin Baldoni Visits Disneyland Amid Blake Lively Lawsuit appeared first on - Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More.
CTV News
6 days ago
- Politics
- CTV News
B.C. launches campaign urging South Asian community to report extortion threats
A campaign urging victims and targets of extortion threats in B.C.'s South Asian community to come forward has launched, but critics want more action. A campaign urging victims and targets of extortion threats in B.C.'s South Asian community to come forward has launched, but critics say raising awareness isn't enough. The provincial government has launched a new campaign encouraging members of the South Asian community to report information tied to a disturbing rise in extortion threats, but some critics say the B.C. still isn't doing enough to protect people living in fear. The Crime Stoppers digital media campaign, unveiled Thursday, aims to raise awareness and urge victims and witnesses to come forward. It comes amid a wave of threats and violence targeting South Asian-owned businesses in Surrey. 'It is important that the police have the information to work so that they can do their job,' said Public Safety Minister Gary Begg. In recent months, several Surrey businesses have received chilling phone calls demanding millions of dollars, followed by targeted gunfire. Similar extortion patterns have been reported across Canada. Police made mass arrests linked to organized crime in Ontario and Edmonton earlier this year, but so far, no arrests have been made in Surrey. 'My message to the public is number one, report. But number two, know that we are working extremely hard to really find these people and hold them accountable,' said Surrey Police Service Chief Const. Norm Lipinski. Both Lipinski and Begg insist police have the resources they need, but not the co-operation. 'I don't think there is a shortage of expertise on the part of the police. I think there is a shortage of information,' Begg said. Still, some critics believe the province's new $100,000 campaign doesn't go far enough. 'One hundred thousand dollars is a drop in the bucket. It doesn't send a serious message to the South Asian community that it's really scared right now,' said Steve Kooner, a B.C. Conservative MLA and the party's critic for the Attorney General. 'If this government wants to take this matter seriously, it really needs to look to different levels of government, and it needs to come up with solutions that are legislation-based.' Begg says intelligence links the Lawrence Bishnoi gang — an organized criminal group — to some of the extortion cases. The premier has formally asked the federal government to label the group a terrorist organization. 'The federal designation would unlock additional tools and resources not just in British Columbia but across the country,' Begg said. Surrey Police have said they are actively investigating 12 extortion files, but believe many more have gone unreported. Lipinski also said some of the cases may be linked to individuals 'beyond the borders of Canada,' and that they're working with the RCMP on the complex cases. The new awareness campaign will run for 60 days and is also available in Punjabi.
