(WHAS11) - Federal charges have been filed against Karen Sypher, the woman at the center of an alleged extortion case involving U of L basketball Coach Rick Pitino.
The charges came less than a week after Pitino said he filed a complaint with the FBI last month claiming he was the victim of an attempted extortion.
Sypher appeared in court Friday, looking subdued and with nothing to say.
She but did not enter a plea and was charged, booked and released Friday on her own recognizance.
Now that she's been charged, the affidavit has been made public.
On April 9th, Coach Rich Pitino was interviewed by the FBI.
Pitino told of the voicemail left on his phone by a man characterizing an interaction between Pitino and an unnamed woman as criminal in nature and said the media would be notified.
WHAS11 received two phone calls from a woman claiming to be Karen Sypher making criminal allegations against Pitino.
According to the affidavit, Sypher's husband, Tim Sypher, brought Pitino a written list of demands including college for her children, paying off her home, two cars of her choice, $3,000 a month, $75,000 if Pitino were to ever leave the University of Louisville among others.
The complaint says those demands were later withdrawn when she asked for $10 million instead.
It isn't clear why she was demanding the money. Court documents say only that Pitino believed it was related to an encounter in 2003.
Here is a statement released by Pitino's lawyer: "Last week, my client, Coach Rick Pitino, issued a statement disclosing that he had reported an extortion attempt against himself and his family to the FBI. Today, the United States brought criminal charges against the perpetrator of this scheme. While Coach Pitino takes no comfort in this prosecution and remains astonished by these events, it marks a turning point that allows him to focus with a clear mind once again on his family and his team. Coach Pitino is grateful for the support so many people have shown him in recent days. Given that this is a federal criminal prosecution in which we are cooperating, I have directed Coach Pitino not to comment any further about this case. Any inquiries should be referred to the United States Attorney's Office or to me."
