Calif. Man Pleads Guilty to Sending Fake Nancy Guthrie Ransom Note

“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 could face two years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both, along with one year of being closely watched while he is free.

On September 10, he will be given his sentence.

This is the second major piece of information to break this week in the Guthrie case.

Federal investigators have determined that all three ransom notes linked to the disappearance of 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie, mother of “Today” show co-host Savannah Guthrie, are fake communications, according to an FBI official who spoke to Reuters on Tuesday.

The bombshell revelation comes nearly six months after Nancy Guthrie vanished from her upscale home in Catalina Foothills, Arizona, on January 31, 2026, in what authorities have treated as a criminal abduction.