Lincoln woman accused of working with Aubrey Trail to extort prison nurse
LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – A Lincoln woman is accused of helping notorious death row inmate Aubrey Trail with an extortion scheme.
Samantha Al-Rekabi, 55, was charged Monday with felony theft by extortion.
In an arrest warrant affidavit, investigators said Al-Rekabi helped Trail swindle $25,000 from a nurse at the Reception and Treatment Center in 2021.
Al-Rekabi met Trail while writing a book about the 2017 murder of Sydney Loofe, according to court documents.
Authorities began an investigation into the extortion scheme on March 17, 2021, before Trail was sentenced for the murder.
Trail had “manipulated” the nurse into smuggling contraband, including a phone, into the prison, court documents say.
During this time, Trail learned that the nurse had a troubled relationship with her husband.
Trail told the nurse that he hired a hitman to kill her husband and that she needed to pay him $25,000 to stop it from happening, the affidavit alleges.
Al-Rekabi went with the nurse to withdraw the funds from her bank on Feb. 17, 2021. The two had developed a relationship over their shared passion for true crime, according to the affidavit.
While the nurse was inside the bank, Al-Rekabi was on the phone with Trail confirming the transaction.
On the same day, Al-Rekabi got $10,000 from the nurse, the affidavit says.
In recordings obtained by investigators, Al-Rekabi was heard bragging about pilfering $25,000 from the nurse.
Investigators think the hit on the nurse’s husband was fabricated to extort the money.
Authorities issued an arrest warrant for Al-Rekabi on Sept. 11. She was arrested on Sunday, according to jail records.
At a court hearing Monday, Lancaster County Judge Laurie Yardley set Al-Rekabi’s bond at $5,000. If convicted, she could spend up to 20 years in prison.
