Attempted Extortion Arrests 

February 8, 2023 – The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office reported that two subjects were arrested for attempting to extort money from the victim after a failed business deal.
 
In 2021, Richard Diament and the victim entered into a business deal with one another.  The victim was hired to perform a construction project for Diament.  When the project could not be completed and the money paid to the victim had not been returned, Diament solicited the services of Christopher McCloud to recover the money from the victim.  McCloud went to the victim’s residence with personal information pertaining to the victim and his family, telling the victim that he had a set amount of time to return the money or there would be consequences for failing to do so.  McCloud also referenced being a member of a large criminal street gang in Los Angeles. 
 
During the subsequent investigation, East County Major Crimes detectives arrested McCloud for violations of 524 PC – Attempted Extortion and 646.9(a) PC – Stalking.  Prior to being able to arrest Diament for his role in this crime, Diament fled the state of California.  Detectives obtained an arrest warrant for Diament for violation of 653f(a) PC – Solicitation to Commit Extortion.  The warrant included full extradition terms, as information was obtained that he had fled to the state of Montana.  With the assistance of the US Marshals Service, Diament was taken into custody in Montana and is scheduled to be extradited to Ventura County.

McCloud was later released on $100,000.00 bail with a pending court date.  Diament’s bail will be set at arraignment upon his return to Ventura County.

Source: Ventura County Sheriff’s Office