Jonathan Todd Jackson was taken into custody on April 30 and is due to be arraigned in court on Wednesday, May 2.

AceShowbiz - A man suspected of trying to blackmail Kevin Hart over his 2017 sex tape scandal has been slapped with two felony charges of extortion. The married "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle" star hit headlines last August after he was caught on camera in a compromising situation with another woman while partying in Las Vegas.

It subsequently emerged that the video footage was being used as part of an attempted extortion plot, forcing Kevin to call in authorities to deal with the matter, while owning up to his bad behaviour online and issuing a public apology to his then-pregnant wife Eniko and his family.

Los Angeles investigators have since arrested prime suspect Jonathan Todd Jackson, who was taken into custody on Monday, April 30. The 41-year-old is due to be arraigned in court on Wednesday, May 2, on charges of attempted extortion and extortion by threatening letter.

Prosecutors from the L.A. County District Attorney's office believe Jackson contacted Hart and demanded an undisclosed sum of cash between August 25 and 30, 2017 in exchange for keeping the incriminating hotel room video under wraps.

When the comedian refused to pay up, the suspect is then alleged to have shopped the footage around to various media outlets. According to TheBlast.com, Jackson was a "trusted associate" of Hart's inner circle, and the star has now hinted at the betrayal in a post on Twitter.

"Mind blown...," he tweeted shortly after the news was reported. "Hurt...at a lost for words and simply in complete disbelief at the moment. WOW."

The latest developments in the case come days after Hart appeared to relive the cheating drama in the music video for rapper J. Cole's song, "Kevin's Heart".

The promo, directed by Scott Lazer, was released last week, four months after the actor admitted he was still working on repairing his marriage to Eniko, who stood by her man throughout the controversy, and gave birth to his son Kenzo in late November last year.

The funnyman also has two kids from his previous marriage.

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