Ex-FBI Agent Says She Got Fake Nancy Guthrie Ransom Note Too, as Scammers Target Case With Fake AI Images

TUCSON, Ariz. — A former FBI agent who has become a prominent commentator on the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie says she, too, received a fake ransom demand tied to the case, offering new evidence that scammers are exploiting the search for the missing 84-year-old mother of "Today" show co-anchor Savannah Guthrie.

Jennifer Coffindaffer disclosed the message this week after a Tucson-area woman, Lauren Serpa, said she had received a ransom note claiming Guthrie was alive and being held in Mexico. The Pima County Sheriff's Department has since said the latest message was not credible.

Coffindaffer said the demand she received in April bore striking similarities to the one sent to Serpa, leading her to believe the same people may be behind both.

Latest note sent to woman who knew Guthrie

Serpa, who has said she knew Guthrie and has been described in reports as maintaining a memorial outside the missing woman's home, said in a Facebook post that she received the ransom demand Sunday night.

According to Serpa's account, the message claimed Guthrie was alive in Mexico and directed her to send bitcoin to a digital wallet in exchange for Guthrie's release. Reports based on her account said the sender demanded six bitcoins, worth roughly $500,000.

Serpa said she communicated with the sender for several hours and asked for proof that Guthrie was alive. The sender responded with a video, which Serpa said appeared to have been created using artificial intelligence. At that point, she said, she was confident the note was not legitimate.

Serpa said she reported the message to the sheriff's department. Those details come from her own public account and have not been independently confirmed by investigators.

Sheriff rules message not credible

The PCSD/FBI Guthrie Task Force announced Monday that it had been made aware of a new possible ransom message and related social media comments. By Tuesday, authorities said it was fake.

"After further review, investigators determined the text message is not credible," Sheriff Chris Nanos said in a statement.

The department urged the public to remain cautious. "Do not send money or provide personal information in response to unsolicited messages," the statement said, adding that scammers may try to take advantage of the situation.

Authorities did not publicly identify who received the message or describe its contents.

Former FBI agent reveals similar demand

Coffindaffer, who spent an hour Tuesday morning analyzing the note and the exchange that followed, said she agreed it was not genuine. To support her conclusion, she revealed for the first time that she had received a similar ransom message in April.

She said both messages shared several features, including a demand for payment in bitcoin and a QR code linking to a cryptocurrency address. In her case, the sender included an AI-generated image claiming to show Guthrie, while Serpa received an AI-generated video.

Discussing the image she received, Coffindaffer said: "We know this isn't her."

She said the similarities are the main reason she believes the people who contacted her in April are the same ones who sent the latest demand to Serpa.

Coffindaffer urged anyone who receives a similar message not to send money and to contact law enforcement instead.

A pattern of hoaxes

The latest episode adds to a long list of questionable communications tied to the case since Guthrie vanished from her home in the Catalina Foothills north of Tucson. She was last seen Jan. 31 and reported missing Feb. 1. Authorities believe she was taken from the home in the early morning hours.

Two early notes sent to Tucson television station KOLD drew significant attention. The first, sent Feb. 2, demanded $4 million in bitcoin for Guthrie's release. A second note, sent Feb. 6, claimed she had died shortly after being taken. Authorities have not confirmed that claim, and Guthrie's fate remains unknown.

Other purported ransom notes have since surfaced, including several sent to TMZ. Coffindaffer has previously told Newsweek that some of those messages appeared designed to "torment" the family for profit.

She has also argued that scammers are unlikely to have real information, noting they have sought relatively small cryptocurrency payments rather than pursuing the official reward for information.

In July, a California man, Derrick Callella, pleaded guilty to two counts of harassment using a telecommunication device after admitting he contacted a missing person's family on Feb. 4, asking about a bitcoin transfer while knowing that an earlier ransom demand had been made.

Coffindaffer's evolving views

Coffindaffer has been a frequent voice in media coverage of the case. Earlier this year, she said she believed the first two ransom notes were authentic and that Guthrie's disappearance may have been a kidnapping for ransom that went wrong.

She has also suggested the case may be linked to a sophisticated network targeting people for cryptocurrency, a type of crime sometimes called a "wrench attack," in which criminals use physical force or threats to obtain digital assets.

Her latest comments, however, focus on the growing number of copycat demands that appear aimed at profiting from public attention on the case.

Investigation continues

Nearly eight months after Guthrie's disappearance, no arrests have been made and no suspects have been publicly identified. Investigators have recovered images of an armed, masked person from a camera at her home.

The sheriff's department and FBI have received tens of thousands of tips. The Guthrie family has offered a reward for information leading to her recovery.

Savannah Guthrie has repeatedly appealed for help. In a video shared in late July, she addressed whoever took her mother directly, urging them to help the family learn what happened.

"Help us find her. Tell us where to look for her," she said.

How to report information

Authorities are asking anyone with information to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI, the Pima County Sheriff's Department at 520-351-4900, 88-CRIME, or through the P3 Tips mobile app.

Officials also urged anyone who receives a message claiming to be connected to Guthrie's disappearance to report it to law enforcement rather than respond or send money.