Man accused of seeking money for tapes about her...
Oprah Winfrey was the victim of an extortion attempt after an Atlanta man threatened he had potentially damaging audio tapes he'd publicize if he wasn't paid off, according to federal charges.
Keifer Bonvillain of Atlanta is charged in Chicago federal court with illegally taping telephone calls he had with a Winfrey employee he befriended at a party.
Over a series of weeks, Bonvillain allegedly asked the employee many questions about Winfrey and her business. He later told a second person, described as Winfrey's "business associate," that he recorded 12 hours of those conversations and ultimately asked for $1.5 million to destroy the tapes and his notes, according to charges.
At various times, Bonvillain threatened to sell the information to tabloids, to use the tapes to write a book or to simply sell them to Winfrey's representatives, according to federal charges.
Bonvillain's name came up in a separate legal case in New Jersey recently. According to court records, he was hired as a consultant by one of the parties to that case and involved in tape recording conversations while probing claims tied to an insurance dispute. (more) (update)
