Karen Sypher (FILE Photo)LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - A federal appeals court has upheld the conviction of a Kentucky woman who tried to extort millions in cash, cars and a house from University of Louisville men's basketball coach Rick Pitino.
The U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday found that attorneys for 52-year-old Karen Sypher "advanced no arguments of merit on appeal."
In 2010, a jury convicted Sypher of extortion, lying to the FBI and retaliation against a witness. Prosecutors said she sought the money from Pitino to stay quiet about a tryst in a Louisville restaurant. Since being convicted, Sypher has put forth a variety of conspiracy theories which have been rejected by a federal judge and law enforcement.
Sypher is serving a seven-year sentence at a federal prison in Marianna, Florida.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
