California man gets 60 years for extorting businesses

A man who extorted money from Riverside County businesses by threatening to sue them for violating the U.S. Americans with Disabilities Act has been sentenced to 20 years in jail.

Rodolfo DeHoyos was sentenced Tuesday in Riverside. He also was given 40 years of mandatory supervision — similar to probation — and was ordered to pay $58,000 in restitution.

Prosecutors say the Menifee man approached as many as 1,000 businesses, posed as an advocate for the disabled and threatened to sue over minor violations of federal and state disabled access laws unless he was paid off.

Authorities say he collected about $140,000.

DeHoyos pleaded guilty last fall to 143 counts of extortion, attempted extortion and grand theft.