Van Der Sloot indicted on wire fraud and extortion charges

CNN

"A U.S. federal grand jury on Wednesday indicted Joran van der Sloot on
charges of wire fraud and extortion in connection with a plot to sell
information about the whereabouts of Natalee Holloway's remains in
exchange for $250,000, officials said.

An arrest warrant on these same charges had been issued for van der
Sloot earlier this month. The charges are unrelated to the killing of a
student in Peru in which van der Sloot is the suspect. He is in Peruvian
jail.

Wednesday's indictment alleges that van der Sloot exploited "Beth
Holloway's fear that she would never find her daughter's body or know
what happened to her unless she paid him $250,000," the Alabama U.S.
Attorney's office said.

The Dutchman is accused of making false promises that he would reveal
the location of Natalee Holloway's body if the money was transferred to
him.

According to the indictment, Beth Holloway wired $15,000
to a bank account van der Sloot held in the Netherlands, and through an
attorney gave him an additional $10,000 in person.

Once he hadthe initial $25,000, van der Sloot showed the attorney, John Kelly,
where Natalee Holloway's remains allegedly were hidden. It turned out to
be false information, the indictment states.

The indictment seeks for van der Sloot to forfeit $25,100, which
includes $100 Beth Holloway initially transferred to van der Sloot to
confirm his account.

"I want to applaud the FBI's work on this case," U.S. Attorney Joyce
White Vance said. "Because of the agents' dedicated efforts, we are able
to bring charges against someone who sought profit in a mother's
grief."

In Peru, van der Sloot's attorney on Wednesday filed an appeal to a
ruling that upheld the admissibility of his confession and the legality
of his detention in the death of Stephany Flores, 21.

One month after his daughter's killing, Peruvian businessman Ricardo
Flores met with a judge Wednesday to give a formal statement about the
facts surrounding the case, family members told CNN.


Ricardo Flores helped search for Stephany Flores when she didn't come
home on May 30 after a night out at a casino. Her body was later found
in a hotel room in Lima, Peru, registered to Joran van der Sloot. He's
been charged with first-degree murder and robbery in the case.

Ricardo Flores' meeting with the judge was his first. Van der Sloot
refused an opportunity earlier this month to give the judge a statement."
(Long article continues on CNN web site)