Dutch national Joran van der Sloot, who has been linked to the 2005 disappearance of American teenager Natalee Holloway, is expected to plead guilty this week to extorting money from Natalee's mother, Beth Holloway. Van der Sloot, 36, had been serving a prison sentence in Peru for the murder of 21-year-old Stephany Flores when he was extradited to the United States in June to face federal extortion and fraud charges. Initially, he had pleaded not guilty, but now he has reached a plea deal with federal prosecutors.

According to John Q. Kelly, the lawyer for Beth Holloway, a new plea and sentencing hearing has been scheduled for Wednesday in Birmingham, Alabama. However, van der Sloot's public defender, James Gibson, and the federal prosecutor on the case could not be reached for comment. Peru had previously announced that they would temporarily extradite van der Sloot to the United States.

Van der Sloot was one of the last people seen with Natalee Holloway before she disappeared in Aruba, a Dutch colony, on May 30, 2005. Despite extensive searches, her whereabouts remain unknown, and her remains have never been found. In 2012, a judge declared her legally dead.

In 2010, a federal grand jury in Alabama indicted van der Sloot for attempting to extort $250,000 from Beth Holloway in exchange for information about Natalee's death and the location of her remains. Beth Holloway made an initial payment of $25,000 to van der Sloot as part of an FBI sting operation, but he provided her with false information.

While Kelly and Beth Holloway initially welcomed van der Sloot's extradition in June, Kelly has expressed concern about the plea deal and the possibility of van der Sloot providing false information. He pointed out that van der Sloot had changed his story and admitted to lying about Natalee Holloway's murder in the past.

It remains unclear what van der Sloot's sentence could be as part of the plea deal. However, before serving any time in the United States, he is expected to return to Peru to complete the remainder of his sentence there.

The court records filed on Friday state that van der Sloot will appear for a plea and sentencing hearing in Birmingham federal court on Wednesday. Additional details about the plea were not immediately available, and neither his U.S. lawyer nor the U.S. Attorney's Office provided comments.

Van der Sloot's connection to Natalee Holloway's disappearance dates back to 2005 when he was still a student at an international school in Aruba. Holloway, an 18-year-old from suburban Birmingham, Alabama, vanished during a high school graduation trip to the Caribbean island. She was last seen leaving a bar with van der Sloot. Although he was arrested in connection with the case, he was later released and never charged.

Despite the lack of progress in finding Natalee's remains, her mother and the authorities have not given up hope. The plea deal with van der Sloot offers a potential opportunity for closure and answers in this long-standing mystery.