Bail was denied Tuesday for a porn actor accused in a shakedown scheme in which a man allegedly paid $500,000 in hush money and turned over a sports car worth nearly $180,000 to stop the suspect from exposing details of his paid sexual liaisons with the defendant and other X-rated performers.
Teofil Brank — who performs under the name Jarec Wentworth in adult films and on gay porn sites — is awaiting trial on federal felony charges, including extortion and related counts. If convicted, he faces more than 10 years in federal prison.
In denying a defense motion for bail, U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael Wilner said he doesn’t “have any confidence” in Brank’s trustworthiness should he be released.
The alleged victim is identified in court documents only by the initials D.B.
“We’re dealing with a social media embarrassment case,” defense attorney Ashfaq Chowdhury told the court, adding that despite the allegation that a revolver and ammunition were found when Brank was arrested, there was “no threat of violence.” Brank, 26, of Sacramento, was arrested March 4 in an FBI sting after an agent posing as D.B.’s friend met with the porn actor at a Starbucks in El Segundo and handed over title to an Audi R8 car and discussed transfer of $1 million, according to court documents.
Weeks earlier, Brank had allegedly threatened to post sexually explicit photographs and private information about D.B. on Twitter and other social media sites if the man did not provide $500,000 and the car.
“I’m just going to bite hard,” Brank texted to the victim, according to an affidavit prepared by an FBI agent who investigated the case. “I want a new car, motorcycle and both hands full of cash.”
The victim complied, transferring $500,000 to Brank the next day, the affidavit states.
In unsuccessfully arguing for Brank’s pretrial release, Ashfaq Chowdhury told the court that his client, a non-citizen who was brought to the United States as a toddler from Romania, had a friend that could put up $200,000 in sureties.
Wilner initially denied bond for Brank last month after the defendant was charged with one count of intent to extort by threatening to damage another’s reputation, a charge carrying a two-year maximum prison term.
However, prosecutors filed six more counts against the defendant on May 1 in an updated indictment.
— City News Service