AMC Entertainment Holdings (NYSE:AMC) Inc CEO Adam Aron on Thursday acknowledged that he was the victim of a blackmail attempt by a New York woman last year.
Aron sent sexually explicit photos of himself and messages to a ‘catfish’ who tried to blackmail him for hundreds of thousands of dollars by threatening to release the photos, news outlet Semafor reported.
A ‘catfish’ is someone who sets up a fake online profile to trick people who are looking for love, usually to get money out of them.
"Rather than give in to blackmail, I personally engaged counsel and other professional advisors and reported the matter to law enforcement …. knowing I risked personal embarrassment," Aron said.
"But with my access to resources, if I did not stand up against blackmail, who could?"
The New York woman behind the blackmail attempt, Sakoya Blackwood, pretended to be a former romantic partner of Aron using an anonymous online account beginning in March 2022.
She then attempted to extort Aron of $300,000, threatening to expose Aron’s online behavior to the AMC board, CNBC reported.
Blackwood was charged in a Manhattan federal court for her extortion attempts and was sentenced in July to time already served in jail.
Aron noted that he was asked by police to keep the matter confidential during the investigation and legal proceedings, and that he informed AMC’s board after Blackwood’s sentencing.
Contact Sean at sean@proactiveinvestors.com