(HorizonPost.com) – The CEO of AMC Entertainment confirmed last week that he fell victim to “an elaborate criminal extortion” last year but the matter has since been resolved, CNN reported.
CEO Adam Aron revealed in a post on X that he had been a victim of an unknown “third party” who perpetuated “false allegations about my personal life.”
According to Aron, he refused to give in to extortion, instead engaging legal counsel and “other professional advisors” and reporting the issue to law enforcement.
Semafor had previously reported that Aron had become a victim of a catfishing scam that was threatening and targeting him for hush money.
In a press release last year, prosecutors from the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York confirmed that it charged Sakoya Blackwood with “interstate communications with the intent to extort,” as well as extortion and cyberstalking. The SDNY only said that Blackwood targeted the CEO of a publicly traded company.
However, it was not known until last week’s Semafor report that the CEO in question was Adam Aron.
According to Semafor, in March of last year, Blackwood created “multiple online identities” she used to target Aron, including sending him explicit photos of a young woman whom prosecutors said was a Russian model.
Aron began exchanging messages with Blackwood thinking she was someone with whom he had a prior relationship.
Eventually, Blackwood demanded Aron pay her to keep the messages and photos private.
In his post on X, Aron revealed that Blackwood was convicted of cyberstalking over the summer and sentenced to time served.
He said while the incident was “entirely a personal matter,” he informed the board of directors for AMC Entertainment, and that he remains the company’s CEO and the “matter is closed.”
In a statement to CNN, the board confirmed that it determined the matter “personal” and considered it “resolved.”
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