The woman who accused former Gov. Eliot Spitzer of attacking her last February at The Plaza Hotel was busted Monday after flying back into the country, authorities said.
Svetlana Travis aka Svetlana Zakharova was arrested on a grand larceny by extortion charge for allegedly attempting to shake down the former disgraced governor earlier this year at the hotel.
The 26-year-old Travis was also hit with forgery charges, police said.
The Bronx district attorney is expected to handle the matter after Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance, Jr. recused himself because of his personal connection to Spitzer.
Police sources said Travis faced forgery charges because she used the personal information of a 67-year-old Bloomfield, N.J. man to enter into a high-priced rental agreement.
The victim only learned of it when he started getting calls from a collection agency for $18,000 in back rent owed by Travis, sources said.
Travis made headlines in February when she alleged that Spitzer who had known her for two years, according to police sources — choked and pushed her inside the ritzy hotel.
Police sources said after Spitzer, 57, left her at the hotel on Feb. 13, she cut herself with a broken glass. She flew back to Russia that same weekend.
Travis reportedly worked as a $5,000-a-night Russian call girl.
Spitzer’s lawyer, Adam Kaufmann, said, “We have been informed by the Bronx District Attorney that Ms. Travis has been arrested and charged with extortion-related crimes against Mr. Spitzer and others. Our knowledge of the charges is limited to the allegations set forth in the felony complaint. Mr. Spitzer will cooperate with the Bronx District Attorney’s investigation.”
At the time, Spitzer’s lawyer admitted the two know each other — but denied allegations Spitzer ever got physical with Travis and said she never told cops he did.
Spitzer later filed a lawsuit against his former gal pal claiming she made threats to “ruin his life” if he did not meet her demands to shower her with cash.
Spitzer, in the lawsuit, accused Travis of contacting one of his daughters via social media to reveal false details of their encounters.
The suit sought unspecified damages for “claims of common law fraud, fraudulent inducement and unjust enrichment.”
The “Luv Guv” quietly dropped the suit last month, just two months after filing it.
Travis is the same woman who calls herself “Svetlana Z” and wrote a 2014 article for the website Medium that was headlined “Sex Is Sex, But Money Is Money.”
In the article, the woman, who claimed to earn upward of $5,000 a night, wrote: “I’m a businesswoman.
I did what politicians in this country are always encouraging immigrants to do: work hard, seize opportunity, maximize your talents.”
The Russian native wound up at Mt. Sinai Hospital that night, where a man thought to be Spitzer appeared after Travis was taken there for treatment.
Spitzer, the married father of three daughters, was forced to resign as the state’s top executive in March 2008 after he was exposed for hiring hookers.
