( CNN ) -- A U.S. federal grand jury on Wednesday indicted Joran van der Sloot on charges of wire fraud and extortion in connection with a plot to sell information about the whereabouts of Natalee Holloway 's remains in exchange for $ 250,000 , officials said . An arrest warrant on these same charges had been issued for van der Sloot earlier this month . The charges are unrelated to the killing of a student in Peru in which van der Sloot is the suspect . He is in Peruvian jail . Wednesday 's indictment alleges that van der Sloot exploited `` Beth Holloway 's fear that she would never find her daughter 's body or know what happened to her unless she paid him $ 250,000 , '' the Alabama U.S. Attorney 's office said . The Dutchman is accused of making false promises that he would reveal the location of Natalee Holloway 's body if the money was transferred to him . According to the indictment , Beth Holloway wired $ 15,000 to a bank account van der Sloot held in the Netherlands , and through an attorney gave him an additional $ 10,000 in person . Once he had the initial $ 25,000 , van der Sloot showed the attorney , John Kelly , where Natalee Holloway 's remains allegedly were hidden . It turned out to be false information , the indictment states . The indictment seeks for van der Sloot to forfeit $ 25,100 , which includes $ 100 Beth Holloway initially transferred to van der Sloot to confirm his account . `` I want to applaud the FBI 's work on this case , '' U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance said . `` Because of the agents ' dedicated efforts , we are able to bring charges against someone who sought profit in a mother 's grief . '' In Peru , van der Sloot 's attorney on Wednesday filed an appeal to a ruling that upheld the admissibility of his confession and the legality of his detention in the death of Stephany Flores , 21 . One month after his daughter 's killing , Peruvian businessman Ricardo Flores met with a judge Wednesday to give a formal statement about the facts surrounding the case , family members told CNN . Ricardo Flores helped search for Stephany Flores when she did n't come home on May 30 after a night out at a casino . Her body was later found in a hotel room in Lima , Peru , registered to Joran van der Sloot . He 's been charged with first-degree murder and robbery in the case . Ricardo Flores ' meeting with the judge was his first . Van der Sloot refused an opportunity earlier this month to give the judge a statement . Flores met with Judge Carlos Morales Cordova in Lima . As the presiding judge , Morales has the duty to be the chief fact-finder , legal experts told CNN . Morales is getting statements from other potential witnesses , as well . Van der Sloot , 22 , is trying to slow down the legal process by appealing his incarceration and trying to nullify a confession he gave . One judge already denied his claim , but van der Sloot 's attorney said his client will fight all the way to the Peruvian Supreme Court and international courts , if necessary . Wednesday 's appeal was the first step . The Flores family will hold a memorial service Wednesday night in Lima to mark the one month anniversary of Stephany Flores ' killing . Stephany Flores was an intelligent woman with tremendous ambition for success in business , friends of hers told CNN . She once wrote a list of 23 businesses that she wanted to do well in , and then checked them off one by one as she decided whether she was really interested in pursuing them . She came from a privileged family , but was a humble person who was extremely giving , her friends said . At the time of her death , Stephany Flores had told her friends that she was the happiest that she had ever been in her life , they said . Van der Sloot , a Dutch citizen , was twice arrested in connection with the disappearance of Alabama teen Natalee Holloway in Aruba in 2005 , but he has not been charged in that case . Police said van der Sloot admitted that he attacked Flores on May 30 after she read an e-mail in his computer connected with the Holloway case . After killing Flores , police say , van der Sloot took money and bank cards from her wallet and fled to Chile , where he was arrested on June 3 . He was returned the next day to Peru . Van der Sloot is being held at the Miguel Castro Castro Prison , in a high-security area where only two of the 10 cells are occupied and he has no contact with the general prison population . In Session 's Jean Casarez contributed to this report .
Van der Sloot indicted on charges of wire fraud , extortion . Ricardo Flores , slaying victim 's father , meets with judge . Joran van der Sloot files appeal to ruling upholding legality of his confession , detention . Comment: