A federal appeals court has upheld the conviction of a the woman who tried to extort millions in cash, cars and a house from University of Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitino.The U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals today found that attorneys for 52-year-old Karen Sypher ``advanced no arguments of merit on appeal.''In 2010, a jury convicted Sypher of extortion, lying to the FBI and retaliation against a witness. Prosecutors said she sought the money from Pitino to stay quiet about a tryst in a Louisville restaurant.Since her conviction, Sypher has put forth a variety of conspiracy theories which have been rejected by a federal judge and law enforcement.Sypher is serving a seven-year sentence at a federal prison in Marianna, Fla.
