LOS ANGELES – The trial of Teofil Brank, better known as gay porn performer Jarec Wentworth, is set to begin in Los Angeles Tuesday. Brank faces multiple charges of extortion and making criminal threats against a man thus far identified in court documents only as “D.B.”
At a final pretrial hearing Monday afternoon, U.S. District Judge John Walter granted Brank’s motion to dismiss one count in the government’s indictment, finding that in light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s June ruling in Johnson v. United States, Brank’s attempted extortion of his victim could not be considered a crime of violence.
While the dismissal of the count was a small victory for Brank, documents filed in the case indicate the evidence against him is significant and compelling. Among the revelations: FBI agents conducting a sting operation allegedly caught him in the act of committing the crimes with which he is charged.
According to the prosecution, D.B. engaged Brank to help him find other gay porn performers whom he could pay for sex. After aiming comments at D.B. on Twitter, prosecutors say Brank made financial demands via text message. In response to the texted threats, D.B. agreed to pay Brank $500,000 and to hand over his Audi R8.
D.B. then went to the FBI. During his meeting with agents, he received another text from Brank in which the performer allegedly increased his monetary demand to an even $1 million, in addition to demanding a residence in L.A.
On April 4, the FBI sent an undercover agent posing as a courier for D.B. to meet Brank at a Starbucks in El Segundo, Calif. After giving Brank the title to the R8, the agent led him to a car in the parking lot, telling Brank the cash was in the trunk of the car.
After aiming comments at D.B. on Twitter, prosecutors say Brank made financial demands via text message. In response to the texted threats, D.B. agreed to pay Brank $500,000 and to hand over his Audi R8.
Brank was arrested on the spot while an associate named Etienne Yim waited for him in another car. Yim allegedly told investigators Brank had asked him to bring a gun to the meeting for protection. The agents recovered a revolver, ammunition and the smartphone Brank had used to send the alleged extortion demands, according to an affidavit filed in the case.
While Judge Walter granted a pretrial motion to keep D.B.’s identity secret, the victim’s anonymity likely is about to end as a function of testimony and other evidence offered at trial, which the judge has said he expects to take about three days to complete.
“Finally, all this secrecy is going to evaporate,” Walter said, after ordering Brank’s attorney, Ashfaq Chowdhury, to submit a list of witnesses, according to Courthouse News Service.
Chowdhury, who said his client is a non-citizen who was brought to the U.S. from Romania as a small child, has tried to downplay the seriousness of his client’s alleged threats, suggesting at one recent hearing the court is “dealing with a social media embarrassment case.”
If convicted on all counts, Brank could face more than 10 years in prison. Prosecutors said they have yet to show their entire hand. Further evidence expected to be revealed at trial includes a recording of a phone call between D.B. and Brank, a video recording of Brank’s meeting with the undercover FBI agent and additional text messages.
