California Man Arrested After Faking Own Kidnapping To Extort Money From Father

Fresno men, Hollis Priest and Dustin Petersen have been arrested after authorities determined one of the men faked his own kidnapping in an effort to extort money from his father.

Priest, 35 and Petersen, 30 were taken into custody while in the process of trying to collect ransom money at fast food restaurant, the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday.

Sheriff’s Office spokesman Tony Botti says both Priest and Petersen have extensive criminal histories and are methamphetamine users.Botti says Priest and Padersen showed up to pick up the ransom money and were arrested after investigators determined Priest faked his kidnapping to get money from his father to buy drugs. h/t washingtontimes

Priest’s father called deputies after receiving a text message from his son’s cellphone demanding thousands of dollars in exchange for his safe release.