Teen fakes own kidnapping to get $130 from mom, deputies say

SUMTER COUNTY, South Carolina (KTRK) -- A teenager tried to extort money from his own mother by telling her that kidnappers would kill him unless she paid them money, according to authorities.

Sumter County deputies say 19-year-old Emmanuel Franklin is charged with blackmail.

Franklin's mother told deputies she received a call from her son and an unknown man from a private number on Jan. 22. The unknown man reportedly demanded she put $130 in a mailbox or her son would be hurt or killed.

Franklin's mother told deputies that the address she was instructed to take the money to is the home of Franklin's father, according to an incident report.