April 02--A gay porn star is accused of blackmailing an unidentified wealthy man out of $500,000 by threatening to broadcast the lurid details of his personal life, according to federal officials.
FBI agents arrested Teofil Brank -- better known by his stage name Jarec Wentworth -- on March 4 after investigators say he tried to exact the ownership of a condo and $1-million cash from the man, who is referenced in court documents as D.B.
In a March 20 indictment, Brank, 25, was charged with one felony count of extortion by threatening to injure someone's reputation. If convicted, he faces up to two years in federal prison.
Brank is scheduled to appear in court Thursday for a bail review hearing. A judge previously denied bail, deeming him a flight risk, but Brank's attorneys appealed the decision.
According to a sworn affidavit, Brank began sending D.B. text messages on Feb. 16, demanding $500,000 cash and the man's Audi sports car.
The adult performer pledged to post photos and other details of the man's trysts through his Twitter account, according to the affidavit. Prosecutors say Brank published a damaging comment online about the unidentified man, then removed it.
"I'm just going to bite hard," Brank said in a text message to the man, according to court documents. "I want a new car, motorcycle and both hands full of cash."
D.B. complied, wiring money and handing over the car, but Brank's demands continued, prosecutors said.
D.B.'s attorneys contacted the FBI two weeks later, and a sting operation was set up at a Starbucks in El Segundo, according to the affidavit.
An undercover agent gave Brank the title to the Audi R8 inside the coffee shop, but said the $1 million was stored in the trunk of his car, the affidavit said. Outside, agents arrested the porn star and found a loaded revolver in his car.
D.B.'s actual identity has prompted speculation outside the courtroom and has become a point of dispute as the case moves forward.
A U.S. District judge ordered prosecutors to disclose the victim's name in court last week, but the man's attorney objected, prompting further review.
The public defenders representing Brank argued that the public has a right to know D.B.'s name, noting that D.B. is alleged to have paid Brank for sex and to find him other sexual partners, according to a brief filed Tuesday.
D.B.'s attorneys, however, say revealing his identity would compromise his rights as a victim, and they are seeking an order that would exclude mention of D.B.'s name until a trial.
Federal prosecutors, according to a brief filed Tuesday, have sided with D.B.'s attorneys, noting that he would face "the very harm threatened by the defendant."
Pending a judge's ruling, all parties are barred from mentioning his name on the record.
