A singer who was wrongly pulled over for a DUI has revealed she was asked to pay $12,000 to have her mugshot removed from a social media site.
Stefanie Fair, who is married to Grammy-award winning hitmaker Ron Fair, was arrested in Nashville on June 23.
A trooper from the Tennessee Highway Patrol pulled her over because she did not stop as required. During a field sobriety test, he mentioned smelling alcohol on her, according to a report by WSMV.
Her bloodwork eventually came back completely clean two months later, but not before her mugshot had popped up on Scoop Nashville.
The horrified mom got in touch with the site to have it removed, but was instead quoted $10,000 for it to disappears.
The Fairs shared that they received a separate contact from an individual who identified themselves as being from a company called Reputation Defenders. This person claimed they could remove the mugshot for $12,000.
Ron Fair described the interaction as a classic case of extortion, stating, ‘It was straight up extortion 101. “Hey Ron, we see your wife’s mugshot on there, and that’s got to be terrible for you with your profile, and we’re able to take that down for the fee of $12,000.”‘
Stefanie Fair, pictured with husband Ron, was asked to pay $10,000 to remove a mugshot from a wrongful DUI arrest from an online news site
A representative from the company told WSMV that their name was being used ‘inaccurately’.
Fair is an award-winning songwriter behind hits for the likes of Christina Aguilera, Fergie, Gwen Stefani and the Pussycat Dolls.
He and his wife share four children, who the couple say were also caught up in the vile scheme.
‘There was also another aspect to it that was very mean spirited and dastardly and unacceptable, and that was the tagging of our children,’ Ron said of the Scoop Nashville post.
The website was a controversial news source headed by proprietor Jason Steen up until his death earlier this year.
Its content relied on public records, social media posts and online rumors to produce sensationalist yet popular stories.
The Fairs decided to reject Steen’s offer, but their attorney Ben Raybin said some of his other clients have paid the ransom.
‘In Stephanie’s case, he initially quoted $10,000 dollars, but as a favor to me, he would give us a discount for $7,500,’ Raybin said.
Fair, who is married to Grammy-award winning hitmaker Ron Fair, was arrested in Nashville on June 23
Her bloodwork eventually came back completely clean two months later, but not before her mugshot had popped up on Scoop Nashville which demanded the eyewatering sum to take down her mugshot
The former member of teen girl group Wild Orchid was among seven sober drivers who were wrongfully arrested by the Tennessee Highway Patrol, according to an investigation by WSMV.
Bodycam footage showed her insisting that she does not drink before the arresting officer ordered her to begin a field sobriety test.
‘When he started asking me about drinking, I instantly got this feeling in my stomach,’ Fair said.
‘When he said he could smell it, I knew it was corrupt. This is completely wrong.’
Video pulled from before the arrest also showed that Fair had come from an ice cream parlor which helped her defense.
‘If this could happen to me completely sober. It was just like, very scary,’ she said.
