A gentleman recognized for brokering contracts connecting negotiation of celebrity photos and videos has agreed to plead guilty in a plot to extort more than $1 million from Tom Cruise for the actor’s stolen wedding photos, according to court documents unsealed Thursday. David Hans Schmidt, 47, has agreed to plea guilty to one count of sending communications for purposes of extortion. He faces up to two years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine under a plea agreement filed Aug. 24.
It wasn’t known when Schmidt, who is free on $100,000 bond, might enter his plea in court. A phone message left for his attorney, Nancy Kardon, was not immediately returned Thursday.