The woman who catfished Chris “Birdman” Andersen and tried to extort him was sentenced recently to 18 months in jail in Canada.
The Denver Post this week published a story about the matter, as the woman who perpetrated the crimes is also awaiting extradition and charges in Colorado.
Shelly Chartier, 33, was found guilty in Canada of orchestrating an elaborate scheme that resulted in Andersen having his home raided in 2012 under suspicion of crimes against a child. The Winnipeg Free Press has a detailed look at Chartier that is worth your time.
According to the Free Press, Chartier lives in third-world, filthy conditions in a small Manitoba town that only recently got high-speed internet. She dropped out of school in sixth grade and lives on $150 a week in social assistance, never having worked a paying job in her life. She never has been to a doctor and hardly ever leaves her home. She says she was bored until getting internet in 2011, and at that point she became mischievous.
Chartier created a fake Facebook profile for Andersen, through which a 17-year-old California girl attempted to contact the basketball player. She then posed as the teenager when communicating with Andersen and set up a relationship between the former Denver Nuggets big man and the 17-year-old. Chartier claimed to Andersen that the person she was posing as was 21, when in reality the girl was 17. She even set up a meeting between them in person.
Chartier, while posing as Andersen to the girl, communicated threats to the 17-year-old. Chartier also tried to extort Andersen while posing as the California girl’s mother.
It was when the 17-year-old reported the matters to authorities that Andersen was investigated and eventually had his home raided. News of the raid and investigation led to a rash of negative publicity for Andersen and likely contributed to the Denver Nuggets releasing him in the summer of 2012. He eventually signed with the Miami Heat and won a championship with the team.
In addition to the 18 months she is set to serve in Canada, Chartier is set to face multiple charges in Colorado ranging from theft to identity theft, sexual exploitation of a child and racketeering. The Post says the most serious charge is a Class 2 felony, for which the penalty is a maximum prison sentence of 24 years.
In Colorado, the legal age for consent is 17.
