John Stamos attends Allison Cross extortion trial

Accused of trying to extort John Stamos, Allison Cross and Scott Sippola are on trial. After being asked to pay over a half-million dollars to prevent photos from being released, John Stamos contacted his lawyers. Supposedly, these photos are of Allison Cross and John Stamos at a 2004 beach party.

Crimes of Scott Sippola and Allison Cross

The Michigan trial of Allison Cross and Scott Sippola is for the alleged crime of extortion. After meeting in Florida, Cross and Stamos started corresponding via email – after which, “Brian L” contacted Stamos, threatening to sell photos to the tabloids. In order to supposedly prevent these photos of Stamos at a 2004 party with Cross from being released, the individuals asked for $ 680,000. In email correspondence, Cross told Stamos she knew about the plot.

John Stamos’ response to the extortion

When the extortionists tried to get Stamos to pay to prevent the release of photos, he contacted the FBI and his lawyers. The existence of photos from Stamos’ 2004 Orlando trip is not contested. The photographs are going to be released by Stamos when the trial is over. Though the relationship between Stamos and Cross could not be mentioned during the major portion of the trial, it was mentioned within the opening statements.

Extortion laws in Michigan

There are relatively heavy fines and punishments for extortion within the state of Michigan. Allison Cross and Scott Sippola might be facing a very long time in jail if they are convicted. Any time a person threatens injury to person or reputation and requests payment to prevent said injury, it can be considered extortion. Being convicted of extortion in Michigan means you’ll face 20 years in jail and / or a $ 10,000 fine.