A 21-YEAR-OLD Valencia man allegedly ran a sextortion racket that earned him thousands of euros.
The plot was a family affair with the Guardia Civil arresting him as well as investigating his mother and girlfriend.
The man made threats to users of a dating website that arranged hook ups with escorts.
BLACKMAIL MESSAGE ABOUT ‘ANGRY BOSS’
A victim in Alicante province paid over €30,000 before going to the police in May 2024, who then launched an operation to find the extortionist.
He said that after using the website, he started to receive threats through phone calls and texts via a messaging app.
The caller spoke with a foreign accent and accused him of having ‘bothered his boss’s supposed girl’ and demanded an immediate payment for the ‘inconvenience caused’.
If payments were not made promptly, he threatened to send some ‘boys’ to his home to ‘solve it in another way’,
With the threats getting to him, the victim made multiple payments through bank transfers and also via an online platform.
Five other victims- all men- have so far been identified by authorities in the Alicante, Valencia, Almeria, Sevilla and Valladolid areas.
The Guardia Civil in El Verger(Alicante province) said they are not ruling out finding additional victims or arresting more people.
They took the lead in tracking down the perpetrator and discovered a large amount of the money transfers had been used for online sports betting.
The 21-year-old suspect opened several bank accounts to receive and transfer the illegally-obtained loot.
He was arrested in Valencia City and had three mobile phones on him with multiple SIM cards and €291 in cash.
The plot leader allegedly used his mother, 51, to help launder the proceeds made through his enterprise.
The man was bailed after appearing before a court in Denia.
