LOS ANGELES — A federal judge today sentenced gay porn star Jarec Wentworth to five years and 10 months in prison.
Wentworth, 26, was convicted this past summer on six counts of extorting Donald Burns, a multimillionaire Magic Jack exec who admittedly had a penchant for sexual affairs with gay porn stars.
In sentencing today, Wentworth also was ordered to serve three years of supervised release following his 70-month prison term.
In a presentencing report delivered earlier this month, the U.S. Probation Office determined that Wentworth’s imprisonment range should be 70-87 months. The office recommended a low-end sentence of 70 months and a three-year period of supervised release.
Federal prosecutors, meanwhile, were aiming for 80 months of imprisonment.
In the case at hand, the gay porn actor had threatened to expose Burns’ "sexual liaisons" in an extortion and attempted extortion case that prosecutors claimed that would have yielded more than $1.5 million in cash and personal property to the fan favorite who mostly worked on SeanCody and Men.com productions.
The prosecution's case was largely built on the numerous text messages found on mobile phones of Wentworth and Burns, as well as testimony from a law enforcement agent about the extraction of evidence from Wentworth’s phone, telephone audio recordings and bank records.
Burns admitted giving Wentworth money to have sex with him at least four times, he said in testimony. He also said he gave him $1,500 to $2,500 every time the gay porn actor introduced him to other male models and performers.
"It was partly a coping mechanism from the loss of my long-term relationship," Burns said in court when asked why he had paid Wentworth to hook him up.
Prosecutors told the 14-person jury comprised of 11 women and three men (two were alternates) that Burns flew out performers to and from the sexual trysts and offered referral fees to Wentworth.
Burns met Wentworth in 2013 when he considered investing in the gay porn industry, but two years later Burns told the FBI that he was the victim of a shakedown after Wentworth allegedly threatened to go public about his sexual interests on Twitter.
At the time, Burns had already paid Wentworth $500,000 and gave him an Audi R8 worth $180,000. Wentworth, however, demanded more, including a Los Angeles apartment and cash.
Wentworth told Burns in a text message that he could "bring your house down" if he didn’t deliver more.
Burns, who resides in Florida, is worth $140 million. In addition to his slot as chairman of MagicJack, he was a co-founder of the Telco Communications Group and heads the Donald A. Burns Foundation.
FBI agents, who acted as Burns’ associates, arranged a meeting with Wentworth in March at an El Segundo, Calif., Starbucks to hand over cash and title to the Audi.
Wentworth later was arrested and placed in handcuffs by FBI agents, who later found a gun and ammunition in a backpack in his car.
He currently is being housed at the U.S. Metropolitan Detention Center as prisoner No. 68794-112.
