California man accused of extorting roommate after videotaping sex

FREMONT, Calif. -- A California man is accused of videotaping a couple having sex, and then blackmailing them.

Police say the suspect, 33-year-old Maninder Adama, was the victim's roommate.

Adama lived with his wife in an apartment in a complex in Fremont, which they shared with a couple in their 20s. The young couple moved out after two months and started receiving disturbing emails from an unknown address.

"They had a video of the couple engaged in sex acts, and if they didn't pay $5,000 they would release the video to Facebook and tag them and family members," Fremont Police Detective Michael Gebhardt said.

Detectives used information from the emails to track down Adama. He had moved to the apartment complex across the street. Neighbors were appalled. One mother plans on talking to her daughter who lives with roommates.

"I'm going to let her know what happened and what to look out for. I'm surprised," neighbor Lashawn Fisher said.

Police served a search warrant on Adama's new apartment and recovered the video. They are searching through recording material they've collected. He was arrested on multiple counts of felony extortion.

"He was surprised. We spoke at length. He made guilty statements that he knew what he was doing was wrong," Gebhardt said.

Police say Adama does not have a criminal history.

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