- Federal prosecutors alleged a Georgia real estate agent secretly recorded a sex tape with a pro athlete.
- The agent sent text messages asking for $250,000 — threatening to leak the video, prosecutors allege.
A real estate agent based in Atlanta, Georgia, was accused of attempting to extort a professional athlete after illicitly recording their sexual encounter, according to court filings.
Between June and July, after real estate agent Marvavier Rian Hurts and the athlete, whose identity is protected in court filings, had sex in a hotel where Hurts recorded him without permission, federal prosecutors alleged. Days later, Hurts began extorting the athlete, per the criminal complaint charging Hurts with three counts of interstate communications with intent to extort.
A lawyer for Hurts did not immediately return Insider's request for comment.
For months, Hurts pressured the athlete to send him $250,000 in order to protect information about his sexual history and block the release of the tape, promising to sign a nondisclosure agreement in return — until the athlete flew to New York and worked with the FBI to devise a plan to track Hurts down, per the complaint.
On July 27, Hurts was arrested in Georgia, per court records, and was indicted on the charges by a federal grand jury on August 2. The unsealed criminal complaint was first reported on by CourtWatch.
In the complaint and indictment, prosecutors alleged that Hurts sent dozens of text messages to the athlete — initially ignored by the athlete — threatening to share the sex tape with teammates and family members.
"Please do not let this situation spiral out of control," Hurts texted the athlete on June 10. "I know too much about you."
Through June and July, Hurts continuously texted the athlete and messaged him on Instagram, per prosecutors. On June 14, he messaged the athlete's sister, asking her to pressure him to accept his offer, per the court docs.
"I do not want this information to be made public," Hurts wrote to the athlete's sister on June 14, per the complaint. "I want to sign an NDA and collect 250k."
Prosecutors also alleged that Hurts tried to sway the athlete from going to the authorities, telling him that any legal filings would publicize his identity.
The FBI and the athlete then devised a sting operation to lure in Hurts, with the athlete traveling to New York and finally responding to Hurts' numerous messages, allowing investigators to use a location warrant, which opened the door for prosecutors to investigate interstate extortion charges, according to the complaint.
The athlete then began asking Hurts to send his bank information so that he could wire him the money, while Hurts insisted on CashApp or cash payments instead.
"Send your bank information so I can wire the money," the athlete texted Hurts on July 7. "I don't trust you. Jus like you don't trust me."
Through bank account information, the FBI was able to confirm Hurts' identity and later arrest him in Georgia. No plea has been entered yet.