Mother’s Day might really awkward this year for a man in Sumter, South Carolina.
Authorities are accusing 19-year-old Emmanuel Franklin of faking his own kidnapping in hopes of extorting money from his mother.
The desired ransom? A whopping $130, according to local station WACH TV.
Franklin was arrested Sunday and charged with blackmail, The Associated Press reports.
According to an arrest warrant obtained by Newsweek he “caused his mother to believe he would be killed by kidnappers” if she did not come up with the money.
The woman, whom the sheriff’s department has not publicly named, told deputies she received a call on Jan. 22 from a private cellphone number. Her son was on the call as well as someone with an unfamiliar voice who demanded $130 be placed in a mailbox or Franklin would be killed.
However, she got suspicious after she noticed the mailbox address was the same as his father’s.
Franklin allegedly told officers he made up the story to get $130 from her, according to local station WLTX.
He is no longer behind bars, according to jail records.
Under South Carolina law, blackmail carries a fine of up to $5,000, up to 10 years in prison or both, according to Newsweek.
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