LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess) — A Los Angeles man was charged on Thursday with allegedly trying to extort actor and comedian Kevin Hart over a purported sex tape.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office on Thursday announced that Jonathan Todd Jackson, who also goes by sobriquet Action Jackson, with one count each of attempted extortion and extortion by threatening letter.
Jackson, a longtime friend of Hart’s, is accused of trying to extort an undisclosed amount of money from Hart between Aug. 25 and Aug. 30, 2017. Jackson allegedly had a videotape of the actor with a woman in Las Vegas and then is accused of trying to sell the recording to numerous celebrity news websites, prosecutors said.
“Mind blown…Hurt…at a lost for words and simply in complete disbelief at the moment. WOW,” Hart tweeted on Thursday after the charges were announced.
Attorney Lisa Bloom, who previously stated that someone possessed illicit images of her client, Montia Sabbag, with Hart in a hotel room, tweeted that she was pleased by the charges against Jackson.
“Montia and I are delighted that the alleged extortionist is being brought to justice,” Bloom tweeted. “As a crime victim in this case, Montia has fully cooperated with the police since the beginning.”
Prosecutors are recommending bail be set at $100,000. If convicted as charged, Jackson faces a possible maximum sentence of four years in county jail.
The case remains under investigation by the District Attorney’s Bureau of Investigation.
