A federal magistrate judge says he’ll appoint a new attorney for the California man allegedly tried to extort millions of dollars from a West Virginia coal operator.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Clarke VanDervort ruled Wednesday that out of an abundance of caution he would find new new counsel for Vivek Shah.
Shah had retained Charleston attorney Troy Giatras following his indictment earlier this year. The aspiring actor is accused of threatening to kill specific family members of Christopher Cline, a coal billionaire who has a home in Raleigh County, if Cline did not wire $13 million to an offshore bank account.
The 24-year-old Shah and Giatras had a difference of opinion on how the case should proceed and Shah filed a motion for a new attorney.
Magistrate Judge VanDervort ruled since Shah doesn’t have the money to hire his own attorney the court would appoint one for him.
Shah is currently scheduled to to on trial Jan. 7.
In addition to Cline, Shah allegedly tried to extort money from four others including Harvey Weinstein, a movie mogul, and Groupon Co-Founder Eric Lefkofsky. Federal investigators claim he wanted them to send millions of dollars to bank accounts in Cyprus, Mauritius, Malta and Antigua.
