California Man Admits He Sent Phony Nancy Guthrie Ransom Notes

Jeff Robb, a Seattle resident wintering in Tucson, signs a banner supporting Nancy Guthrie in Tucson, Ariz., on Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Ty O’Neil)

A California man has pleaded guilty to sending multiple fake ransom notes related to the disappearance of 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie.

Guthrie, the mother of NBC News anchor Savannah Guthrie, was reported missing after vanishing from her Arizona home in February.

Since then, investigators have received and looked into countless ransom notes to verify their authenticity.

On Thursday, 42-year-old Derrick Callella pleaded guilty to sending the Guthrie family fake ransom notes. A report from People added:

Officials said that Callella, 42, admitted to calling and sending text messages regarding a bitcoin transfer to Guthrie’s family on Feb. 4.

“Callella acknowledged that he knew an earlier ransom demand had been made. Callella also admitted that his actions were meant to harass the family by seeking information about the investigation into the missing person’s disappearance,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in its press release.

Callella faces a maximum sentence of two years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both, plus one year of supervised release. He is set to be sentenced on Sept. 10.

TMZ has also been at the forefront of the saga, being the direct recipient of several alleged notes.

Despite the FBI’s recent determination that TMZ received fake notes, the celebrity news site’s founder, Harvey Levin, claimed that a bureau source told him it was “more likely than not” that the notes were real.

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