{"id":221099,"date":"2026-02-06T02:12:22","date_gmt":"2026-02-06T02:12:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/06\/former-la-county-employee-charged-with-trying-to-scam-guthrie-family\/"},"modified":"2026-02-06T02:12:22","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T02:12:22","slug":"former-la-county-employee-charged-with-trying-to-scam-guthrie-family","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/06\/former-la-county-employee-charged-with-trying-to-scam-guthrie-family\/","title":{"rendered":"Former LA County Employee Charged With Trying to Scam Guthrie Family"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>A former LA County employee has been charged with attempting to scam <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/celebrities\/savannah-guthrie\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Savannah Guthrie\u2019s<\/strong><\/a> family as they continue their search for the <em>Today<\/em> anchor\u2019s missing mother.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lamag.com\/crimeinla\/former-la-county-employee-busted-last-year-for-theft-now-charged-with-trying-to-scam-guthrie-family\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Los Angeles Magazine<\/em> reported<\/a> on Thursday, February 5, that <strong>Derrick Callella<\/strong>, was previously involved in an overtime theft case last October before having new federal charges leveled against him after he allegedly reached out to the family of missing grandmother <strong>Nancy Guthrie<\/strong>, 84.<\/p>\n<p>Callella was one of 13 LA County employees charged with stealing $430,000 in unemployment benefits between 2020 and 2023.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs government employees, we have an obligation to uphold the public\u2019s trust,\u201d Los Angeles County District Attorney <strong>Nathan J. Hochman<\/strong> said <a href=\"https:\/\/lacounty.gov\/2025\/10\/15\/lada-charges-13-la-county-employees-with-stealing-over-430000-in-unemployment-benefits\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">via a press release<\/a> in October 2025.<\/p>\n<p>He continued: \u201cWhen a civil servant steals from the government, that trust is broken. The scale of fraud in these cases is shocking, spanning seven different County agencies, including employees whose very job was to help the public determine whether they were eligible for public benefits. Most egregiously, these individuals allegedly claimed to be unemployed during the COVID pandemic when millions of Californians were legitimately in need of unemployment benefits. I thank Los Angeles County Auditor-Controller <strong>Oscar Valdez<\/strong> for his partnership and commitment to holding government employees accountable. Today, we are putting all government employees on notice: If you steal from taxpayers, you will be prosecuted.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>According to court documents seen by <em>Us Weekly<\/em> on Thursday, Callella was allegedly connected to what the FBI described as a<a href=\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/celebrity-news\/news\/annie-guthrie-and-husband-tommaso-cioni-got-imposters-ransom-texts\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">n \u201cimposter\u201d ransom scam<\/a> after he contacted Nancy\u2019s family following her disappearance.<\/p>\n<p>Per a criminal complaint obtained by <em>Us,<\/em> Callella initially sent a text message to Savannah\u2019s sister <strong>Annie Guthrie<\/strong> and Annie\u2019s husband <strong>Tommaso Cioni.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The text read, \u201cDid you get the bitcoin were [sic] waiting on our end for the transaction.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4244672\" style=\"width: 900px;\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\">\n<div class=\"ratio-based-placeholder\" style=\"padding-bottom:150%;\"><\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"caption\"><br \/>\n Savannah Guthrie.<\/span> <span class=\"credit\">(Photo by Paul Morigi\/Getty Images for Haddad Media)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Callella then allegedly made a phone call to an unidentified family member of Nancy, which lasted nine seconds.<\/p>\n<p>Authorities tracked Callella down on Thursday morning, he admitted to sending the ransom demands. He told the FBI \u201cthat he pulled family information from a cyber website, and that he had been following along and watching TV.\u201d He told authorities his text messages were an attempt to \u201csee if the family would respond.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>FBI Phoenix Special Agent in Charge, <strong>Heith Janke<\/strong>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/celebrity-news\/news\/fbi-reveals-deadline-for-ransom-note-in-nancy-guthries-abduction-is-today\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">addressed the ransom note<\/a> received by the Guthrie family via a press conference held on Thursday, February 5.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think we start to look at what the deadlines were in the note,\u201d Janke shared. \u201cFirst, I think [it] was 5 p.m. today, and then it had a second deadline after that. So we are continuing in a normal kidnapping case, there would be contact by now trying to discuss that. But those are the time frames we\u2019re looking at as we move forward.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"link-related article link-related__with-thumb\">\n\t\t\t<a class=\"article__thumbnail related-ab-test\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/celebrity-news\/news\/annie-guthrie-and-husband-tommaso-cioni-got-imposters-ransom-texts\/\" target=\"\" data-source=\"01\" rel=\"noopener\"><\/p>\n<figure class=\"article__figure\">\n<div style=\"padding-bottom:56.25%;\" class=\"ratio-based-placeholder\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Annie-Guthrie-and-Husband-Tommaso-Cioni-Got-Imposters-Ransom-Texts.jpg?w=400&amp;h=225&amp;crop=1&amp;quality=86&amp;strip=all\" srcset=\"\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 400px, (max-width: 770px) calc(100vw - 6em), 200px\" alt=\"Annie Guthrie and Husband Tommaso Cioni Got Imposters Ransom Texts\" width=\"400\" height=\"225\" data-fallback-img=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Annie-Guthrie-and-Husband-Tommaso-Cioni-Got-Imposters-Ransom-Texts.jpg?quality=86&amp;strip=all\"\/><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"article__content\">\n<h3 class=\"article__title\">\n\t\t\t<a class=\"article__title-link related-ab-test\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/celebrity-news\/news\/annie-guthrie-and-husband-tommaso-cioni-got-imposters-ransom-texts\/\" target=\"\" data-source=\"01\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\n    <span class=\"related-badge\">Related: <\/span><span class=\"related-title\">Annie Guthrie and Husband Tommaso Cioni Got Imposter\u2019s Ransom Texts<\/span><\/a><br \/>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\n\t\t\tAnnie Guthrie and husband Tommaso Cioni were the ones who received imposter Derrick Callella\u2019s ransom text messages after Nancy Guthrie went missing. According to court documents obtained by Us Weekly on Thursday, February 5, Annie and Cioni both received text messages from Callella after the Guthrie family \u2014 which includes Annie, Camron and Savannah Guthrie [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Addressing the \u201cimposter ransom\u201d arrest, Janke added, \u201cWe have made one arrest related to an imposter ransom demand, and a complaint will be presented to a magistrate judge later today.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He continued, \u201cThere\u2019s no evidence to connect this to Nancy\u2019s case. It was someone that was trying to profit off it.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"news-block\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-form  \">\n<div class=\"newsletter-signup__success\" aria-live=\"polite\">\n<h3>Thank You!<\/h3>\n<p>You have successfully subscribed.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>Janke also warned that authorities would come down hard on anyone trying to exploit the Guthries\u2019 situation for profit.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo those imposters who are trying to take advantage and profit from this situation, we will investigate and ensure you are held accountable for your actions,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is an 84-year-old grandma that needs vital medication for her well being. You still have the time to do the right thing before this becomes a worse, much worse scenario for you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Pima County Sheriff\u2019s Department confirmed the news of Nancy\u2019s disappearance on Sunday, February 1, sharing a missing person report via X. Nancy was described as a \u201cvulnerable adult\u201d who was last seen \u201cat her residence\u201d within Arizona\u2019s Catalina Foothills area on the evening of Saturday, January 31. The report noted that it is \u201cunknown what clothing she may be wearing.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/celebrity-news\/news\/former-la-county-employee-charged-with-trying-to-scam-guthrie-family\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A former LA County employee has been charged with attempting to scam Savannah Guthrie\u2019s family as they continue their search for the Today anchor\u2019s missing mother. Los Angeles Magazine reported on Thursday, February 5, that Derrick Callella, was previously involved in an overtime theft case last October before having new federal charges leveled against him [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":221100,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-221099","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-celebrity"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221099","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=221099"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221099\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/221100"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=221099"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=221099"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=221099"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}