CALIFORNIA: Gay Porn Actor Found Guilty Of Extorting Telecom Tycoon Donald Burns

Via Courthouse News Service:

A gay porn actor was found guilty Thursday of extorting and attempting to extort $1.5 million from a Florida-based business tycoon. The case ended Thursday afternoon after about two hours of deliberation, with the jury delivering a guilty verdict against defendant Teofil Brank, who performs as Jarec Wentworth, on all six of the government's charges.

Brank, flushed and on the verge of tears, buried his head in his hands after the jurors left the courtroom. His defense attorney Seema Ahmad wept as two U.S. Marshals cuffed and chained Brank, who was dressed in a white-collared blue shirt, gray pants and black shoes. Brank's criminal trial began on Tuesday. He was charged with extorting Florida tycoon Donald Burns.

During trial, jurors heard salacious details, including Burns' bid to have a gay porn movie shoot on his multimillion dollar cliffside estate, lurid testimony about sex parties and Burns' very public relationship with another former gay model and porn star. In a stunning admission, a male prostitute confirmed he was reluctant to talk to authorities because of his relationship with a "powerful" individual. "David Geffen" was the name he uttered on the second day of proceedings.

Efforts to contact Geffen - billionaire philanthropist, founder of Geffen Records and co-founder of Dreamworks SKG - or his representatives were unsuccessful. Brank was arrested in an FBI sting at a Starbucks near LAX as he tried to blackmail Burns for $1 million. By that time, Brank had already persuaded Burns to hand over his Audi R8 sports car and wire $500,000 from a Goldman Sachs account to a Wells Fargo bank account under Brank's name.

Brank faces six to nine years in federal prison. He will be sentenced in September. (Tipped by JMG reader TJ)