A California man has pleaded guilty to federal charges after sending a fraudulent ransom message to the family of Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of NBC Today co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, who remains missing nearly five months after her disappearance.

Derrick Callella, 42, of Hawthorne, California, entered guilty pleas on Thursday to two federal felony charges: transmitting a ransom demand in interstate commerce and using a telecommunications device with the intent to abuse, threaten, or harᴀss another person. According to court records, he is scheduled to be sentenced on September 10, 2026.

Federal prosecutors said Callella contacted Nancy Guthrie’s daughter, Annie Guthrie, and her husband, Tommaso Cioni, just days after Nancy disappeared from her Arizona home in early February.

According to a criminal complaint filed in federal court in Arizona, Callella sent the pair a text message that read:

“Did you get the bitcoin were [sic] waiting on our end for the transaction.”
Investigators say that approximately three minutes after sending the message, Callella also placed a brief nine-second phone call to another member of the Guthrie family.

In a statement, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona said Callella admitted that he knowingly contacted the family after learning that an earlier ransom demand had already been made.

“Callella admitted that he called and sent text messages to a missing person’s family on Feb. 4, 2026, which asked about a bitcoin transfer,” prosecutors said. “He also acknowledged that his actions were intended to harᴀss the family by seeking information about the investigation into the missing person’s disappearance.”
Authorities emphasized that Callella’s message was not connected to an earlier ransom demand sent on February 2 to local media outlets and TMZ, which remains part of the broader kidnapping investigation.

Nancy Guthrie disappeared from her Arizona home on February 1, 2026, leaving behind her cellphone and essential medications. Despite an extensive investigation involving local law enforcement and the FBI, no suspects have been identified in her disappearance, and her whereabouts remain unknown.

Investigators have received multiple ransom communications over the course of the case. While several have since been determined to be fraudulent extortion attempts, federal authorities have stated that other messages have not been ruled out and continue to be investigated as potentially legitimate.

Some of those communications reportedly included details that had never been released publicly, including references to a broken security light at Nancy Guthrie’s home and the Apple Watch she was wearing when she disappeared.

During the early stages of the investigation, detectives recovered doorbell camera footage showing a masked individual carrying flowers near the property and collected DNA evidence as part of their search for answers.

Last month, Savannah Guthrie made another emotional public appeal, urging anyone with information about her mother’s disappearance to come forward.

The television journalist became visibly emotional while addressing viewers after reports surfaced that one of the ransom messages claimed Nancy had died following her alleged abduction.

As of July 3, 2026, Nancy Guthrie remains missing, and the FBI continues to ask anyone with relevant information to contact investigators. Meanwhile, prosecutors say Derrick Callella now faces sentencing for exploiting the family’s anguish by sending a fake ransom message during one of the most difficult periods of their lives.

Source: New York Post