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Endrit Kllogjeri, 27, and his cohorts were tripped up by an undercover detective posing as the Monmouth County victim, federal authorities said.
Francis Garzon, 31, took a deal from the government rather than risk the consequences of guaranteed prison time if he was convicted at a trial, pleading guilty last month to his role in the plot.
Kllogjeri rolled the dice and lost, however.
He, Garzon and an unidentified co-conspirator schemed to shake down the Marlboro victim and his son, who lived in Brooklyn, according to an indictment returned in U.S. District Court in Trenton.
The defendants threatened to harm the father if he didn't recover a bag from his son that purportedly held undisclosed property worth $100,000 and was stolen from them, it says.
"Garzon further demanded an additional payment of $100,000 as 'interest' for [the son's] possession of the bag," according to a complaint filed by the FBI.
Garzon went to the father's home, told him that he "did not know who he was dealing with," then pulled out a revolver, pointed it at him and cocked the weapon's hammer, the complaint says.
A series of threatening in-person and phone conversations followed -- including cellphone texts that included photos and videos of the son and his family, it says.
Authorities alerted to the situation used an undercover detective who, posing as the dad, offered to settle the situation with $70,000 in cash, according to the complaint.
Kllogjeri and Garzon were arrested together in a vehicle on Dec. 9, 2019 in Brooklyn, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said.
Moments before the arrest, Garzon tried sending the victim a text message confirming the victim’s plan to pay up, the U.S. attorney said.
A federal jury convicted Kllogjeri of conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act extortion and attempting to commit Hobbs Act extortion following a one-week trial in Trenton, Sellinger said.
He didn't say whether U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi set a sentencing date.
Sellinger credited special agents with the FBI with the investigation leading to the conviction, secured by by Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric A. Boden, who's the attorney-in-charge of his Trenton office, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Ian D. Brater. He also thanked Marlboro Township police and the NYPD for their assistance.
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