A former LA County employee has been charged with attempting to scam Savannah Guthrie’s family as they continue their search for the Today anchor’s missing mother.
Los Angeles Magazine reported on Thursday, February 5, that Derrick Callella, was previously involved in an overtime theft case last October before having new federal charges leveled against him after he allegedly reached out to the family of missing grandmother Nancy Guthrie, 84.
Callella was one of 13 LA County employees charged with stealing $430,000 in unemployment benefits between 2020 and 2023.
“As government employees, we have an obligation to uphold the public’s trust,” Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said via a press release in October 2025.
Everything to Know About the ‘Imposter’ Ransom Note in Nancy Guthrie Case
He continued: “When a civil servant steals from the government, that trust is broken. The scale of fraud in these cases is shocking, spanning seven different County agencies, including employees whose very job was to help the public determine whether they were eligible for public benefits. Most egregiously, these individuals allegedly claimed to be unemployed during the COVID pandemic when millions of Californians were legitimately in need of unemployment benefits. I thank Los Angeles County Auditor-Controller Oscar Valdez for his partnership and commitment to holding government employees accountable. Today, we are putting all government employees on notice: If you steal from taxpayers, you will be prosecuted.”
According to court documents seen by Us Weekly on Thursday, Callella was allegedly connected to what the FBI described as an “imposter” ransom scam after he contacted Nancy’s family following her disappearance.
Per a criminal complaint obtained by Us, Callella initially sent a text message to Savannah’s sister Annie Guthrie and Annie’s husband Tommaso Cioni.
The text read, “Did you get the bitcoin were [sic] waiting on our end for the transaction.”
Callella then allegedly made a phone call to an unidentified family member of Nancy, which lasted nine seconds.
Authorities tracked Callella down on Thursday morning, he admitted to sending the ransom demands. He told the FBI “that he pulled family information from a cyber website, and that he had been following along and watching TV.” He told authorities his text messages were an attempt to “see if the family would respond.”
FBI Phoenix Special Agent in Charge, Heith Janke, addressed the ransom note received by the Guthrie family via a press conference held on Thursday, February 5.
“I think we start to look at what the deadlines were in the note,” Janke shared. “First, I think [it] was 5 p.m. today, and then it had a second deadline after that. So we are continuing in a normal kidnapping case, there would be contact by now trying to discuss that. But those are the time frames we’re looking at as we move forward.”
Annie Guthrie and Husband Tommaso Cioni Got Imposter’s Ransom Texts
Addressing the “imposter ransom” arrest, Janke added, “We have made one arrest related to an imposter ransom demand, and a complaint will be presented to a magistrate judge later today.”
He continued, “There’s no evidence to connect this to Nancy’s case. It was someone that was trying to profit off it.”
Janke also warned that authorities would come down hard on anyone trying to exploit the Guthries’ situation for profit.
“To those imposters who are trying to take advantage and profit from this situation, we will investigate and ensure you are held accountable for your actions,” he said. “This is an 84-year-old grandma that needs vital medication for her well being. You still have the time to do the right thing before this becomes a worse, much worse scenario for you.”
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department confirmed the news of Nancy’s disappearance on Sunday, February 1, sharing a missing person report via X. Nancy was described as a “vulnerable adult” who was last seen “at her residence” within Arizona’s Catalina Foothills area on the evening of Saturday, January 31. The report noted that it is “unknown what clothing she may be wearing.”
