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Guilty Verdict in John Stamos Extortion Trial

By Tanya Roth, Esq. on July 16, 2010 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

Quicker than you can say "Full House," the jury in the John Stamos extortion trial returned their verdict: guilty. After four hours of deliberation, the jury found defendants Allison Coss, 24, and Scott Sippola, 31, guilty of conspiracy and using email to threaten a person's reputation. The trial took only four days.

According to E!Online, Coss and Sippola were accused of sending emails to Stamos, one under the name of "Jessica T" saying that she was pregnant with his child and then others threatening to reveal pictures of Stamos with strippers and cocaine to the tabloid press. Those pictures were supposed to have come from about the time Stamos and Coss met and Coss alleges, when Stamos tried to initiate a sexual relationship with her. She was a minor at the time.

E! reports that Stamos has always denied any "inappropriate relationship" between the two ever occurred. The fact that the FBI agents involved in a sting that resulted in charges against Coss and Sippola say that no pictures ever existed, certainly lends credence to Stamos's claims.

At trial, Coss's attorney dismissed the "Jessica T" emails by claiming they were an attempt to, according to MTV, test Stamos' reaction in hopes of determining whether he was preying on young girls, clearly alluding to Stamos's alleged relationship with Coss. Whether convinced by the following emails by Sippola threatening to sell damaging photos for $680,000 or not, the jury didn't buy any of the defense arguments.

Stamos released a statement showing gratitude for the result in the case. "I would like to thank the court, the FBI and the US Attorney's office for their swift and efficient dealings in connection with this case," his statement said. "... I'm grateful these two criminals have been found guilty and I plan to go home to be with my family and friends and prepare to get back to work," he concluded.

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