{"id":6240,"date":"2026-07-02T21:01:45","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T21:01:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=6240"},"modified":"2026-07-02T21:01:45","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T21:01:45","slug":"nancy-guthrie-california-man-pleads-guilty-to-sending-imposter-ransom-demand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=6240","title":{"rendered":"Nancy Guthrie: California man pleads guilty to sending ‘imposter ransom demand’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Australian-born presenter, Savannah Guthrie poses alongside her mother Nancy Guthrie during a production break whilst hosting NBC’s “Today Show” live from Australia at Sydney Opera House on May 4, 2015, in Sydney, Australia.<\/span> (Photo by Don Arnold\/WireImage)<\/strong><\/p>

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TUCSON, Ariz.<\/strong> – <\/span>A California man who authorities say sent an “imposter ransom demand” to Nancy Guthrie’s family members pleaded guilty to charges on Thursday.<\/p>

What we know:<\/p>

Derrick Callella, 42, pleaded guilty on July 2 to two counts of harassment using a telecommunications device, the United States Attorney’s Office District of Arizona said in a news release.<\/p>

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Derrick Callella<\/span> <\/p> <\/div><\/div>

Callella faces a maximum penalty of two years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both, and one year of supervised release. He’s scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 10.<\/p>

Dig deeper:<\/p>

Investigators say after Nancy Guthrie<\/strong>‘s family members released an emotional video asking the kidnappers to contact them, they each received a text message from a phone number with a California area code reading: “Did you get the bitcoin [we’re] waiting on our end for the transaction”.<\/p>

Officials say they discovered that the phone number was associated with a VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) application, eventually linking Callella to the number.<\/p>

When questioned, investigators say Callella admitted to sending the messages, and said that he pulled the family’s information from a website, and had been following the case.<\/p>

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