Schaumburg man arrested in Harvey Weinstein extortion plot
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CHICAGO (FOX 32 News) -
Federal agents raided a
Schaumburg home Friday afternoon, looking for 25-year-old Vivek Shah, an
aspiring actor who lives in West Hollywood.
They arrested him on August 10th as he was visiting his parents in this north
suburban neighborhood.
Neighbor Donna Carrollo
watched from her window.
"The whole house was
completely surrounded and they waited and surrounded car see anyone come out of
car? Mother. I don't know."
Carollo says the federal
agents then took the mother of Vivek Shah inside her home and didn't come back
out until 9:30 p.m.
"They took boxes. Not sure what
was in them," Carollo told FOX Chicago News.
Those boxes were presumably
filled with evidence. Shah tried to extort millions of dollars from 5 rich and
powerful men through mailed letters.
His highest profile target
was Oscar Award Winning producer and Miramax founder, Harvey Weinstein.
The federal affidavit states
that Shah threatened to "kill named members of the recipients family
unless a large sum of money was wired to an offshore bank account."
This neighbor wouldn't
comment further regarding the shahs except to say "they're good people."
According to his online
profiles, Shah has had small roles in movies and television shows. He's rubbed elbows with A-list celebs as he
tried to make it in Hollywood.
The affidavit also states
Shaw was scheduled to take handgun lessons at an LA shooting range after his
visit to Schaumburg.
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