Celebrity | Oprah Winfrey Oprah Sued for $180M in Extortion Case Louisiana man claims false charges and FBI arrest damaged his reputation By Rebecca Smith Hurd Posted Oct 23, 2008 8:37 AM CDT Copied In this Aug. 30, 2008, file photo, Oprah Winfrey speaks in Whitesboro, NJ. (AP Photo/MJ Schear, file) A Louisiana man is suing Oprah Winfrey and the FBI for $180 million for falsely accusing him of extortion and damaging his reputation, Access Hollywood reports. Keifer Bonvillian was arrested in 2006 after recording conversations with—and accepting money from—a Harpo Productions employee. The extortion charges were dismissed after Bonvillian agreed to community service, drug testing, and restitution. A Winfrey lawyer denies the allegations. Read These Next A federal judge backed Mark Kelly in his fight against Pete Hegseth. Salesforce CEO's ICE joke leaves employees fuming. Trump no longer has to worry about Gallup approval polls. Elon Musk responds to the mass exodus at xAI. Report an error