A CHICAGO man was yesterday sentenced to 27 months in federal prison for trying to blackmail New York Yankees slugger Gary Sheffield and his wife, DeLeon Richards-Sheffield.
Derrick Mosley, a self-styled community activist and religious minister, was convicted for extorting the couple with a video which he claimed showed Ms Sheffield having sex with R&B singer R.Kelly.
He will be sentenced to more time later because he was on probation for bank fraud at the time of the extortion.
Prosecutors had asked federal Judge Samuel Der-Yeghiayan to sentence Mosley to a term well beyond the 30-month maximum under federal guidelines, saying his criminal record is extensive.
The maximum sentence under federal law is 44 years, but the judge opted to stay within the guideline range.
Mosley maintained throughout the case that he had not meant to blackmail anyone and that he had been misunderstood when he offered to provide Ms Sheffield with personal counseling.
"I'm sorry it got to this point, given my track record with the community," he said before the judge imposed the sentence.
"The jury didn't misunderstand," Assistant U.S. Attorney Clarence Butler said. "The jury convicted him of all four counts."
On November 15, Mosley had been convicted on two counts of extortion and two counts of wire fraud for plotting to extort money from Mr and Ms Sheffield.
Prosecutors said Mosley demanded $20,000 in return for destroying a tape he claimed showed her having sex with Kelly before she married the Yankees slugger.
Sheffield said in a statement released at the time of Mosley's arrest that his wife, "had a long-term relationship with a well-known professional singer over 10 years ago."
During the trial, Williams testified Mosley had told him that Mrs. Sheffield, "needed to atone, she needed to repent," and suggested to her that he should act as her paid spiritual consultant.
Mosley is now due to appear before U.S. District Judge Milton Shadur, who presided over his bank fraud case, and will decide on sentencing for that indiscretion.