Nancy Guthrie case: A federal criminal complaint filed in Arizona accuses a man named Derrick Callella of sending harassing text messages to “Today” host Savannah Guthrie shortly after an alleged blackmail video was released. This comes just days after the TV anchor’s mother was abducted.
During a news conference Thursday, Pima County officials revealed that the FBI arrested an imposter who submitted false ransom payments to law enforcement because “they wanted to profit from the situation.” It’s unclear whether Carrera is the same person.
Complaint area
The complaint alleges that around February 4, the kidnapping victim’s daughter and son-in-law each received a text message from the phone number 760-209-0552, which read: “Have you received any Bitcoin? [sic] Waiting for the deal from our side. ”
“AC and TC received these messages while they were in Arizona.” Here AC are Annie and Tommaso Cioni.
IP address associated with California address
Law enforcement traced the 0552 number to a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) application that allows users to obtain secondary phone numbers. An emergency disclosure request showed the number was registered to the email address derrickcallella@gmail.com, the complaint states.
Records further show that the number was accessed from the IP address 70.93.243.103 on February 4, 2026 at approximately 6:02 pm. The IP address is associated with Callella’s residence in California.
Derek Carrera admits
After receiving a Miranda warning, Carrera admitted to sending two text messages and using a VoIP account. He told investigators he obtained the family information from an “online website” and had been “following and watching television.” He claimed he sent the messages “to see if the family would respond.” The data also shows that about three minutes after the text message was sent, Calera made a nine-second call to Nancy Guthrie’s family.
The two text messages were not connected to the original ransom demand on February 2, 2026, the complaint states. Carrera faces charges related to the unauthorized transmission of text messages. The investigation is ongoing.
