Rock Hill man gets probation for blackmail in Christmas gift wallet scam

A 66-year-old Rock Hill man was sentenced to probation Tuesday after pleading no contest to charges that he blackmailed a woman over $40 after the woman lost her wallet while trying to get Christmas help for her children, prosecutors said.

John Thomas Robinson did not admit guilt but accepted the punishment of a guilty plea by pleading no contest to the charge of blackmail when he demanded $40 to return the lost wallet to the woman, said Hannah Grove, 16th Circuit assistant solicitor.

A two-year prison sentence for Robinson was suspended on service of two years probation, Grove said. Robinson also has to pay $500 restitution - which includes both the $40 blackmail money and the $460 that the woman had in her wallet when it was lost, Grove said.

In the incident last year the woman, an immigrant, was trying to get help for Christmas for her children when she lost her wallet at an intake center, Grove said. Robinson, using a business card found in the wallet, contacted the woman and agreed to give it back for the $40 fee.

The woman called police but Robinson did not show at the first meeting that was set up. Robinson did later show up a second time, when the woman’s family took down Robinson’s vehicle information. The wallet was empty.

Robinson was later picked out of a lineup and arrested, Grove said.

This story was originally published July 28, 2015 at 3:26 PM with the headline "Rock Hill man gets probation for blackmail in Christmas gift wallet scam."