John Stamos extortionists each get four years in prison

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Mess with Mr. ‘Full House,’ get sent to the big house: A Michigan man and woman were each sentenced Friday to four years in prison after attempting to extort $680,000 from actor John Stamos.

Allison Coss and Scott Sippola, who met Stamos in 2004 when the actor was in Orlando, Fla., after his split with Rebecca Romijn, each faced up to nine years in prison but reportedly were hoping for something closer to two.

‘The defendants’ strategy consisted of lying and inventing stories at trial in a bid to confuse and incite the jury,’ Stamos wrote in a statement read at the sentencing, which he did not attend. ‘I was forced to watch (Coss) slander me at trial with impunity while the press reported their fabricated allegations.’

Coss, who was 17 at the time she met Stamos, and Sippola had threatened to sell photos of Stamos partying with strippers and blow — pictures that the FBI said did not exist. Stamos contacted the FBI in November 2009 and a sting was set up, which didn’t work out so well for the Michigan folks.

Coss was crying at the sentencing and didn’t address the judge; Sippola had apologized in a court filing earlier in the week, saying in part, ‘I sought to exploit my knowledge of the personal weaknesses of a perfect stranger for my own undeserved financial gain.’

The two were chained at the ankles and wrists Friday and taken to prison.

— Christie D’Zurilla

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Photo at left: Allison Coss, 24, and Scott Sippola, 31, leave the Federal Building in Marquette, Mich., after sentencing on Friday. Photo credit: Danielle Pemble / The Mining Journal

Photo at right: John Stamos in Hollywood on Nov. 16, 2009. Photo credit: Damian Dovarganes / Associated Press.

Related dispatch from the Ministry of Gossip:

Michigan couple convicted in John Stamos extortion trial

Extortion trial starring John Stamos rolls onward

John Stamos caught up in alleged extortion plot