Couple indicted for trying to extort Pastner

A national expansive assemblage successful Atlanta has indicted an Arizona mates for conspiring to extort wealth from Georgia Tech by falsely accusing Yellow Jackets hoops manager Josh Pastner of intersexual assault.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia, Ronald Bell and co-defendant Jennifer Pendley were indicted connected felony charges of conspiracy to transmit a menace interstate, conspiracy to extort spot from different and attempted extortion connected Aug. 24.

"The defendants are alleged to person falsely accused Georgia Tech's manager of intersexual assault," U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan said successful a statement. "They past demanded a ample outgo successful speech for a retraction of the claim. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and our different national instrumentality enforcement partners are particularly proficient successful exposing mendacious allegations designed to extort money. Individuals who effort to perpetrate specified transgression schemes astatine the disbursal of law-abiding citizens volition beryllium caught and prosecuted."

In a question filed to the tribunal connected Friday, Buchanan asked a national justice not to merchandise Bell connected enslaved due to the fact that determination is simply a "serious hazard that the suspect volition flee" and a "serious hazard that the suspect volition threaten, injure, oregon intimidate a prospective witnesser oregon juror, oregon effort to bash so."

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Bell and Pendley allegedly conspired with each different and Chris Meegan, a Georgia Tech information guard, to falsely impeach Pastner of intersexual assault. The authorities accused Bell of recruiting Meegan to falsely assertion that helium witnessed Pastner battle Pendley, who aboriginal filed a suit against Pastner successful which she accused him of intersexual battery, intersexual battle and intentional infliction of affectional distress.

The national authorities claims Bell told Meegan that Pendley's assertion could beryllium worthy $20 cardinal and promised him a information of the money. The authorities alleges Bell besides demanded wealth from Georgia Tech representatives to not study Pendley's allegations. Meegan aboriginal told instrumentality enforcement that helium made up the allegations against Pastner and was encouraged to bash truthful by Bell.

An Arizona justice antecedently convicted Bell, a erstwhile person of Pastner's, connected six misdemeanor counts successful July 2021: 2 counts of solicitation of influencing a witness, 2 counts of attempted tampering with a witness, mendacious accusation and facilitation of fraud, strategy and practice.

Pendley called constabulary connected May 8, 2019, and reported that Pastner sexually assaulted her successful a Houston edifice country portion helium was coaching astatine Memphis successful 2016. Pendley's telephone to constabulary came up of mediation successful a civilian suit related to the accusation. A 2018 tribunal filing by Pastner's attorneys, Scott Tompsett and Scott Palumbo, included recorded jailhouse conversations that suggested the mates fabricated the allegations.

In January 2018, Pastner filed a civilian suit against Bell and Pendley successful Superior Court successful Pima County, Arizona, alleging they were trying to extort and blackmail him by threatening to merchandise mendacious allegations astir him to the media, Georgia Tech and the NCAA.

Bell and Pendley filed a countersuit successful February 2018, alleging Pastner had sexually assaulted Pendley successful the edifice country and harassed her different times. A Title IX investigation, conducted by attorneys hired by Georgia Tech, cleared Pastner successful the substance successful June 2018.

The sides agreed to driblet their lawsuits successful August 2019.

In a November 2017 study by CBS Sports, Bell alleged helium provided Georgia Tech hoops players Josh Okogie and Tadric Jackson with improper benefits by paying for them to alert to his location successful Tucson, Arizona, and paying for their meals astatine a edifice successful Atlanta. Bell besides alleged helium sent the players shoes and shirts that helium purchased online.

After becoming alert of Bell's allegations successful October 2017, Pastner said helium reported the violations to Georgia Tech's compliance department. Tech officials self-reported the violations to the NCAA, and the schoolhouse declared Okogie and Jackson ineligible for contention astatine the commencement of the 2017-18 season. The NCAA suspended Okogie for six games and Jackson for three. They besides required the players to repay the amounts of the benefits they received.

In September 2019, the NCAA placed the Yellow Jackets connected 4 years of probation and banned them from playing successful postseason tournaments during the 2019-20 season. The committee connected infractions ruled that Bell provided players with $2,424 successful shoes, clothes, meals, proscription and lodging.

An NCAA infractions appeals committee vacated aggregate sanctions against Tech successful February 2021.