FBI Arrests 3 Men For E-Mail Extortion

June 14, 2002

The FBI arrested three men charged with extorting money via e-mail from people who visited a child-pornography Web site.

Robert Walker, 31, of Oldham County, Ky.; Harvey Holder, originally from Irvine, Ky.; and Lamont Cordaro, 23, originally from Cleveland, were arrested today at a hotel in suburban Louisville.

The men also were charged with conspiracy.

FBI agent Brian Blanchard said the men are accused of hacking into their victims' computers and demanding money from them.

Blanchard said 21 people from around the nation — as far away as Sacramento, Calif. — reported the attempted extortion.

All the people acknowledged visiting a child pornography site on the Internet.

The men will be arraigned next month.