Film producer Harvey Weinstein
Feds: L.A. actor threatened to kill Hollywood titan's family members
This is not the way to make it in movies.
An aspiring actor from West Hollywood has been busted for trying to extort millions of dollars from Harvey Weinstein — by threatening to kill the movie mogul and members of his family if he turned down the demand for cash, federal authorities said.
Vivek Shah, 25, is accused of targeting Weinstein and at least four other tycoons and their families to force them to wire money offshore.
But his alleged scheme was cut short by the feds, who arrested him Aug. 10 at his parents’ home in the northern Chicago suburb of Schaumburg, Ill., before he headed back to California with plans to take handgun lessons at an LA shooting range, court papers say.
Shah is currently being held without bail in West Virginia, where one of his alleged targets has a home, pending a detention hearing.
Shah — who was bitten by the acting bug as a child — has been rubbing shoulders with celebs while trying to make it in Hollywood.
His Facebook and IMDB pages show him posing with A-list stars such as Tom Cruise, Angelina Jolie, Samuel L. Jackson and Zach Galifianakis.
But his résumé lists only bit parts in movies and TV. He has also appeared in commercials for Nokia and Intel, including one that ran during Super Bowl XLIV in 2010.
Shah’s arrest, first reported by The Smoking Gun Web site, capped an investigation that began after he allegedly sent a letter to billionaire coal magnate Christopher Cline, who has homes in Beckley, W.Va., and North Palm Beach, Fla.
In the letter, which Cline got on June 26, Shah allegedly threatened to kill “several named members of his family . . . unless he transferred $13 million to an offshore bank account,” court papers say.
The feds also learned of “four other extortion demand letters substantially the same as the one received by Mr. Cline,” according to an affidavit signed by Postal Inspector Joshua Mehall.
Those letters went to Weinstein — identified as “a Connecticut resident and co-founder of a film studio” — and three other millionaires scattered around the country.
Weinstein co-founded Miramax with his brother, Bob.
Eric Lefkofsky, co-founder of Groupon and worth an estimated $2.9 billion, received a letter in Illinois, sources said.
Terry Pegula, a Florida resident who is an oil exec and owner of the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres, was another alleged victim.
The final tycoon, identified by sources, is a Texas resident and daughter of the late oilman Dan Duncan, who founded Enterprise Products Partners.
Evidence allegedly tying Shah to the letters includes security footage that shows him buying prepaid debit cards at stores near his home that were later used to buy “Click-N-Ship” postage labels to send the shakedown letters and to try to set up overseas bank accounts, court papers say.
Weinstein, a father of four daughters, declined to comment.
But a source told The Post that he and the other victims immediately contacted the FBI after getting the threatening letters.
“He sent exactly the same letter to every victim,” the source said.
“He said in the letter he was down on his luck, in financial problems, and he needed $4 million and he would return the money with a 4 percent interest once he was back on his feet.
“The Weinsteins have always had intense security and been on high alert because of the movies they make. Especially because of the movie ‘The Master,’ they are under intense security,” the source added, mentioning the upcoming film loosely based on the founding of Scientology.
Shah’s stunned dad, Mahesh Shah, told The Post that the allegations are “out of character,” and suggested his son was acting under duress.
“He’s a very good person,” the elder Shah said.
“He was pressured by someone, and they threatened they would kill Vivek.”
Mahesh Shah said his son had regularly kept in touch with him and his wife, Kailas, since moving to LA.
“I would ask him all the time if everything there was all right and he would say everything was fine,” he said.
Mahesh said his son’s arrest came while he was staying at his parents’ home for a planned 10-day vacation.
“I just came home one day and the FBI was home. They told me he had been arrested and I was shocked,” he said.
“It’s out of character. We never expected it.”
Vivek Shah was charged with two counts of interference with commerce by threats, and two counts of transmitting threatening communications in interstate commerce, all relating to his alleged extortion of Cline.
The charges carry a maximum 40 years in the slammer.
NY POST
An aspiring actor from West Hollywood has been busted for trying to extort millions of dollars from Harvey Weinstein — by threatening to kill the movie mogul and members of his family if he turned down the demand for cash, federal authorities said.
Vivek Shah, 25, is accused of targeting Weinstein and at least four other tycoons and their families to force them to wire money offshore.
But his alleged scheme was cut short by the feds, who arrested him Aug. 10 at his parents’ home in the northern Chicago suburb of Schaumburg, Ill., before he headed back to California with plans to take handgun lessons at an LA shooting range, court papers say.
Shah is currently being held without bail in West Virginia, where one of his alleged targets has a home, pending a detention hearing.
Shah — who was bitten by the acting bug as a child — has been rubbing shoulders with celebs while trying to make it in Hollywood.
His Facebook and IMDB pages show him posing with A-list stars such as Tom Cruise, Angelina Jolie, Samuel L. Jackson and Zach Galifianakis.
But his résumé lists only bit parts in movies and TV. He has also appeared in commercials for Nokia and Intel, including one that ran during Super Bowl XLIV in 2010.
Shah’s arrest, first reported by The Smoking Gun Web site, capped an investigation that began after he allegedly sent a letter to billionaire coal magnate Christopher Cline, who has homes in Beckley, W.Va., and North Palm Beach, Fla.
In the letter, which Cline got on June 26, Shah allegedly threatened to kill “several named members of his family . . . unless he transferred $13 million to an offshore bank account,” court papers say.
The feds also learned of “four other extortion demand letters substantially the same as the one received by Mr. Cline,” according to an affidavit signed by Postal Inspector Joshua Mehall.
Those letters went to Weinstein — identified as “a Connecticut resident and co-founder of a film studio” — and three other millionaires scattered around the country.
Weinstein co-founded Miramax with his brother, Bob.
Eric Lefkofsky, co-founder of Groupon and worth an estimated $2.9 billion, received a letter in Illinois, sources said.
Terry Pegula, a Florida resident who is an oil exec and owner of the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres, was another alleged victim.
The final tycoon, identified by sources, is a Texas resident and daughter of the late oilman Dan Duncan, who founded Enterprise Products Partners.
Evidence allegedly tying Shah to the letters includes security footage that shows him buying prepaid debit cards at stores near his home that were later used to buy “Click-N-Ship” postage labels to send the shakedown letters and to try to set up overseas bank accounts, court papers say.
Weinstein, a father of four daughters, declined to comment.
But a source told The Post that he and the other victims immediately contacted the FBI after getting the threatening letters.
“He sent exactly the same letter to every victim,” the source said.
“He said in the letter he was down on his luck, in financial problems, and he needed $4 million and he would return the money with a 4 percent interest once he was back on his feet.
“The Weinsteins have always had intense security and been on high alert because of the movies they make. Especially because of the movie ‘The Master,’ they are under intense security,” the source added, mentioning the upcoming film loosely based on the founding of Scientology.
Shah’s stunned dad, Mahesh Shah, told The Post that the allegations are “out of character,” and suggested his son was acting under duress.
“He’s a very good person,” the elder Shah said.
“He was pressured by someone, and they threatened they would kill Vivek.”
Mahesh Shah said his son had regularly kept in touch with him and his wife, Kailas, since moving to LA.
“I would ask him all the time if everything there was all right and he would say everything was fine,” he said.
Mahesh said his son’s arrest came while he was staying at his parents’ home for a planned 10-day vacation.
“I just came home one day and the FBI was home. They told me he had been arrested and I was shocked,” he said.
“It’s out of character. We never expected it.”
Vivek Shah was charged with two counts of interference with commerce by threats, and two counts of transmitting threatening communications in interstate commerce, all relating to his alleged extortion of Cline.
The charges carry a maximum 40 years in the slammer.
NY POST
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