Lebanon Man Charged With Extortion

HARRISBURG - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that John Zayas, age 34, of Lebanon, Pennsylvania, was charged in a criminal information on April 7, 2023, with extortion by interstate communication. 

According to U.S. Attorney Gerard M. Karam, the indictment alleges that between September 5, 2022 and October 20, 2022, in Lebanon County, Zayas attempted to extort money from a victim, through communications containing threats to injure the reputation of the victim.

This case was investigated by the FBI.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Christian T. Haugsby is prosecuting the case.

The maximum penalty under federal law for the extortion offense charged in the information is imprisonment for two years, a $250,000 fine, and one year of supervised release.  A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.

Indictments and Criminal Informations are only allegations. All persons charged by information are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.

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