‘It was straight up extortion’: Sober drivers charged with DUI must pay to have mugshots removed
A former pop star says her family was quoted $12,000 to have mugshot taken off internet.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - Getting arrested for a DUI while she was sober was traumatizing for Stephanie Fair, but what would come next would impact every member of her family.
“Not even 12 hours later, my mugshot is on Scoop Nashville,” Fair said.
Fair is the latest person documented by WSMV4 Investigates to be charged with DUI whose bloodwork would later show they were completely sober at the time.
But when Fair’s mugshot was posted on Scoop Nashville, a website infamous for posting the jail photos of arrested people, as well as on the company’s social media pages, the post garnered more than 1,500 “likes” on Instagram alone.
The headline read: “Momfluencer & wife of music mogul Ron Fair arrested in Nashville.”
A former pop star of the group “Wild Orchid” which produced hit songs in the 1990s along with bandmate Fergie, she also later starred on a Bravo TV show about mothers in Los Angeles.
Her husband, Ron Fair, is a grammy-award winning former president of A&M records.
But it wasn’t just Fair and her husband that were mentioned in the post.
“There was also another aspect to it that was very mean spirited and dastardly and unacceptable, and that was the tagging of our children,” Ron Fair told WSMV4 Investigates.
As Fair waited for her bloodwork to come back showing that she had no trace of alcohol or drugs in her system, the phone calls started, coming from St. Petersburg, Florida. Ron Fair said the caller identified himself as working for “Reputation Defenders.”
“It was straight up extortion 101,” Ron Fair said. “‘Hey Ron, we see your wife’s mugshot on there, and that’s got to be terrible for you with your profile, and we’re able to take that down for the fee of $12,000.‘”
The Fairs immediately decided to reject the offer, despite repeated phone calls, citing how easy it is for someone to screen grab a post and repost it, even if the mugshot is removed. “I’m not paying to take anything down,” Stephanie Fair said.
There is a reputation management company called “Reputation Defender,” but they deny reaching out to Fair.
“We’re surprised and concerned to hear that our name may have been used inaccurately and appreciate you bringing this to our attention. We take this very seriously,” a spokesperson for the company wrote WSMV4 Investigates.
The spokesperson wrote that they do not contact people following an arrest. However, the Fairs would soon learn the caller wasn’t the only one trying to profit off the DUI arrest.
Ben Raybin, Fair’s attorney, said the owner of Scoop Nashville, Jason Steene, agreed to take down the mugshot for a cost.
“In Stephanie’s case, he initially quoted $10,000 dollars, but as a favor to me, he would give us a discount for $7,500,” Raybin said.
While the Fairs rejected the offer, Raybin said some of his other clients have paid Steene in the past.
“Even if the case got dismissed, he would not lower the charges. He would want thousands and thousands of dollars,” Raybin said.
On March 3, 2023, Kentucky resident David Tindell sued Steen, claiming that the owner of Scoop Nashville failed to take down details of a dismissed criminal charge.
The lawsuit reads that Steene asked for $199 to remove Tindell’s mugshot, claiming, “(Steene) attempted to extort money from (Tindell) in exchange for removal of false information knowingly published through his media business.”
Even when Tindell’s charge was dismissed, the lawsuit reads that Steene kept the post up.
Tindell was ultimately granted summary judgement of $364,000.
While WSMV4 Investigates advocates for the release of public information including mugshots, we asked Raybin if he felt Steene’s offers straddled the line of extortion.
“It’s hard to think of it other than anything but extortion, your charging an exorbitant amount of what you think someone is willing to pay,” Raybin said.
To further complicate the issue, Steene died earlier this year from heart complications.
If you now go to Scoop Nashville’s website, an error message appears, but the site’s social media remains, which means Fair’s post is still visible, even though her charge was dismissed.
“Now that Jason Steene has passed away, nobody really knows what’s going to happen to the content,” Raybin said.
WSMV4 Investigates contacted Steene’s last known attorney but did not hear back.
If there’s something you want us to know for this story, please contact Jeremy.Finley@wsmv.com.
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