{"id":2858,"date":"2026-07-03T19:37:03","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T19:37:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/?p=2858"},"modified":"2026-07-03T19:37:03","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T19:37:03","slug":"california-man-admits-to-sending-fake-ransom-demands-amid-nancy-guthrie-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/?p=2858","title":{"rendered":"California Man Admits To Sending Fake Ransom Demands Amid Nancy Guthrie Case"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div><!-- \/10519169\/dailycaller_incontent_1 --> <\/p>\n<p>A California man pleaded guilty to sending phony ransom demands to the family of Nancy Guthrie, the missing 84-year-old mother of \u201cTODAY\u201d co-host Savannah Guthrie, according to a U.S. attorney\u2019s office.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/?p=2856\">Another Fairfax Suspect Faces Rape, Abduction Charges After Failure To Prosecute<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Derrick Callella, 42, pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court in Tucson to two counts of harassment via telecommunications device, according to a U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Arizona press release. His deal with prosecutors keeps him out of prison and calls for five years on probation, a U.S. Attorney spokesperson told Reuters. The conviction is the only one so far in Guthrie\u2019s disappearance, which remains unsolved over five months on, according to the outlet. Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 10. The charges he faced carried up to two years behind bars as well as a $250,000 fine.<\/p>\n<p>The FBI said Callella messaged Guthrie\u2019s relatives on Feb. 4, NewsNation reported. He conceded he already knew someone had floated a ransom demand, according to the U.S. Attorney statement obtained by Reuters. The statement said Callella confessed that he wanted to harass relatives by pursuing details about the search. <strong>(RELATED: Savannah Guthrie\u2019s Gut-Wrenching Interview Reveals New Details Of Nancy Guthrie\u2019s Disappearance)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you get the bitcoin were [sic] waiting on our end for the transaction,\u201d a message read, according to court records cited by NewsNation. Cellphone data showed a nine-second call to a relative moments later, investigators said.<\/p>\n<p> <!-- \/10519169\/dailycaller_incontent_2 --> <\/p>\n<p>The texts reached Guthrie\u2019s oldest daughter Annie and son-in-law Tommaso Cioni just after the family posted a video seeking proof of life, KOLD-TV reported, citing court records and detectives. Prosecutors said Thursday that Callella failed a drug test, according to KVOA4 Tucson. Court statements showed that Callella admitted he used drugs four days prior.<\/p>\n<p>Guthrie, frail and barely mobile, was last seen at her Tucson-area home Jan. 31, and a relative reported her missing to authorities on Feb. 1, Reuters reported. Searchers found her wallet, phone, hearing aid and medication left behind, and DNA testing matched blood discovered on her porch to her. No suspect in her disappearance has surfaced.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/?p=2854\">Indianapolis Airport Security Foils Traveler\u2019s Alleged Nutty Live Grenade Scheme<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The FBI\u2019s Phoenix field office said Thursday that investigators have received several purported ransom notes, discarding some as \u201cextortion attempts without legitimacy\u201d while weighing others as possibly genuine. The bureau is still investigating the matter as a kidnapping for ransom, with local authorities running the case, according to the field office.<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/10519169\/dailycaller_incontent_3 --> <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Department of Justice will protect victims and families at all costs, and grief profiteers will be held accountable,\u201d U.S. Attorney Timothy Courchaine said, according to NewsNation.<\/p>\n<p>Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos warned others against similar hoaxes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe FBI takes these notes extremely seriously. They track them down, and if they find it to be fraudulent, they don\u2019t just put it aside; they will arrest you, they have made arrests, I think they\u2019ve made two or three arrests already,\u201d Nanos told KOLD-TV.<\/p>\n<p>Savannah Guthrie has pleaded publicly for her mother\u2019s safe return, telling viewers the family remains \u201cin agony\u201d over the disappearance of her mother, according to NBC News.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/?p=2852\">Aboard The Freedom Train: America\u2019s Most Underrated 250th Birthday Party<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Derrick Callella pleaded guilty to two counts of telecom harassment for sending fake ransom demands to Nancy Guthrie&#039;s family. Sentencing is set for Sept. 10.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2857,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[446,166,2880,2941],"class_list":["post-2858","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting","tag-abduction","tag-california","tag-nancy-guthrie","tag-ransom"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>California Man Admits To Sending Fake Ransom Demands Amid Nancy Guthrie Case - Home Transfer Guide<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/?p=2858\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"California Man Admits To Sending Fake Ransom Demands Amid Nancy Guthrie Case - Home Transfer Guide\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Derrick Callella pleaded guilty to two counts of telecom harassment for sending fake ransom demands to Nancy Guthrie&#039;s family. 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