LOS ANGELES — Cindy Crawford and her husband Rande Gerber have been targeted in an extortion scheme involving a photo of their young daughter bound to a chair in revealing clothing.
The scandal was revealed when court papers were filed Thursday by the FBI and the U.S. attorney's office detailing the $100,000 plot in U.S. District Court, the Associated Press reports. An acquaintance of their former nanny, identified as Edis Kayalar, 26, is accused of trying extort money from the Gerbers by threatening to release the photo to the media. Kayalar, who has not been arrested, was recently deported to Germany and is believed to be living in Stuttgart, authorities said.
The photo was purportedly taken by the nanny earlier this year. It shows the girl, then 7, gagged and bound to a chair wearing shorts and a T-shirt. The child told authorities that it was taken as part of a "cops and robbers" game.
The nanny was fired a week before Kayalar allegedly threatened the Gerbers for the first time in July. She has not been charged.
Kayalar is said to have stolen the photo from the nanny and arranged for a meeting with Gerber at a bar, where he showed him a copy of the picture. The nightclub mogul initially paid Kayalar $1,000 for the photo, but the German man allegedly demanded more money by threatening to have another copy of the image.
"He believed he could have received $500,000 from the tabloids for the photograph and that he deserved more money from them," court documents said.
Crawford's rep, Annett Wolf, issued a statement saying the Hollywood couple is committed to seeking justice in the case.
"Rande Gerber and Cindy Crawford intend to pursue any and all available legal action against anyone who aids the perpetrator in the distribution or sale of the photograph of their daughter."
Crawford, 43, and Gerber, 47, have been married since 1998. In addition to their daughter, who is now 8, they have a son, 10.
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