New York

Woman Sentenced to 90 Days in Jail in Eliot Spitzer Blackmail Scheme

The plea deal announced Monday also covers a separate case in which Svetlana Zakharova tried to steal money from a man in New Jersey

The 27-year-old woman who tried to extort money from former Gov. Eliot Spitzer by threatening to expose her relationship with him and relay sordid details to his wife and the media was sentenced to 90 days in jail Monday -- a guilty plea to attempted petit larceny that covers the Spitzer case and her separate effort to steal money from a man in New Jersey, authorities said.

Svetlana Travis Zakharova had flown to her native Russia in February 2016 after claiming she was attacked by Spitzer in a hotel room, an allegation his attorney at the time said was false, created by someone with "emotional difficulties."

She was arrested upon her return to New York months later, in October, on a grand larceny by extortion charge for allegedly attempting to shake down Spitzer to the tune of $400,000 over two years, prosecutors alleged. Spitzer attorney Adam Kaufmann said last year that Spitzer had known the woman for a period of time. Prosecutors say Zakharova demanded money and threatened to reveal her personal relationship with him publicly if he didn't pay up.  

Zakharova was also charged with second-degree forgery in a separate case in which she allegedly signed papers on a lease that billed $18,000 to a New Jersey man.

Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark said in announcing the plea deal Monday that the arrangement covered both the case involving the New Jersey victim and Spitzer. A two-year order of protection was issued for the New Jersey man. 

Spitzer, a Democrat, resigned two years into his term in 2008 amid revelations that he had sex with prostitutes. He was identified as a patron of a high-priced prostitution ring during a federal investigation, but he was never charged. His attempt at a political comeback failed when he lost his bid to become New York City's comptroller in 2013.

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