Woman charged with $3M extortion

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WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., Oct. 11 (UPI) -- A Florida woman has been charged with threatening to sell letters from her mother's former employers to the news media unless she was paid off.

Camille Brown, 31, of Plantation was arrested after she allegedly negotiated a deal with a Florida Department of Law Enforcement agent posing as a representative of the Schaefer family, The Miami Herald reported. A judge set bail at $200,000 at a hearing Wednesday.

Brown's mother was a housekeeper for Rowland Schaefer, founder of Claire's Stores Inc., and his wife at their home in Hollywood. Brown allegedly approached Bonnie Schaefer, the couple's daughter, by email, saying she had letters written by her 89-year-old mother, Sylvia.

FDLE Agent James Born quoted from the email in a report: "Now Bonnie, how would you feel about the world knowing about the darker side of 'The Incredible Rowland Shafer'? Promptly respond with a show of commitment to protecting your family's name and the reputation of your father. Otherwise, the letters will go to the highest bidder -- CNN, Time, Forbes, etc., etc. Attached are samples of some of your mother's 50-plus letters for your convenience, they make for excellent reading."

In his report, Born said Brown told him at an initial meeting that she wanted "market value" for the letters. She then wrote $3 million on a piece of paper.

Guy Fronstin, Brown's lawyer, told the Herald in an email he expects additional information will "shed a very different light on the case."