Former Fox News Regular Arrested for Extorting Her Mom

Cathy Areu, a former Fox News regular dubbed the “Liberal Sherpa,” was arrested in Miami on Friday for allegedly kidnapping and financially extorting her mother. Investigators allege she stole more than $224,000 from her elderly mother, including proceeds from her reverse mortgage, and opened credit cards in her name. A warrant for her arrest went out in June, but authorities believe she had been evading arrest, even sneaking off to Mexico, according to a Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office press release. She’s also accused of involuntarily placing her mother in an assisted living facility “in an attempt to gain control over her mother’s financial assets,” according to the press release. Areu was a regular unpaid guest on Fox News; a bio still up on the network’s site says she provides “liberal analysis” and hosts the podcast “Liberal Sherpa.” She sued the network in 2020 over harassment claims, which a judge later dismissed.