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Friday, March 29, 2024 | Back issues
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Van Der Sloot Indicted on Fraud, Extortion Charges

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (CN) - A federal grand jury indicted Joran van der Sloot on charges of extortion and wire fraud for allegedly conning Natalee Holloway's mother into paying him $25,000 for "worthless" information about where the missing teen was buried and how she died.

Five years after Natalee Holloway disappeared in Aruba in May 2005, during a high school graduation trip to Aruba, Van der Sloot contacted her mother's attorney, John Q. Kelly, claiming he could tell them where Natalee was buried for $250,000, according to the indictment.

Van der Sloot allegedly agreed to show Kelly the site of Natalee's remains "and provide specific details concerning the manner of her death, how her remains were disposed of initially, and how her remains came to be in the specified location" for the first $25,000. He was to receive the rest of the money once Natalee's remains had been identified and confirmed, according to the indictment.

After Natalee's mother, Beth Holloway, wired $10,000 to van der Sloot's bank account, the indictment states, van der Sloot took Kelly to a specific spot in Aruba where he said Natalee's remains were buried.

"This information, as the defendant then knew, was false," the indictment states.

Prosecutors say Natalee's mother then transferred another $15,000 into van der Sloot's bank account, which van der Sloot kept, confirming via email that the information he had provided about Natalee was "worthless."

The indictment calls for the forfeiture of $25,100 plus interest.

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