Friday, Feb. 9, 2018 | 1:18 p.m.
A 53-year-old California man has been sentenced to more than 12 years in federal prison in Nevada after he was convicted of extortion and conspiring to burn down a Henderson business owned by the parents of his estranged wife.
U.S. District Court Judge James Mahan sentenced Joel Ausbie of Fontana in federal court in Las Vegas on Thursday.
Federal prosecutors say Ausbie claimed his estranged, common-law wife owed him money but that she had gone into hiding so he targeted her family.
Court documents show he conspired with a co-defendant who fired six gunshots into the parents' home in October 2015 and left a note demanding money or he would kill them.
Prosecutors say Ausbie recruited another co-defendant who set fire 10 days later to the parents' business in Henderson, Las Vegas Kettle Corn & Special Events.
