Catfishing sex worker who blackmailed married clients ordered to refund victims
A sex worker who catfished her client before blackmailing him with threats to expose him to his family has been ordered to issue refunds to all her clients.
Lauren Hunt used an online profile offering her services, where she then threatened to out her married clients.
The 25-year-old from Dundee, Scotland, then got her victims to send her cash, claiming she would tell their spouses and friends of their exploits if they didn't pay up.
But when clients simply tried to block her profile, Hunt instead catfished them by creating new ones with fake pictures before renewing her threats, the Daily Record reports.
A court heard how two of Hunt's three victims - who were named only by their initials in court - became so scared of her threats, they cleared their accounts to pay the ransoms.
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A sheriff at Dundee ordered Hunt to pay back her stolen gains (Daily Record)Hunt was ordered to pay back the men in full as she appeared before Dundee Sheriff Court, as she was placed under home curfew for 12 months.
Sheriff Paul Brown said: "She needs to pay back this money. I see you have had a difficult background and have no previous convictions. You've expressed clear remorse.
"I take a very serious matter and it is necessary to impose a substantial community-based disposal."
He placed her under social work supervision for three years.
Fiscal depute Joanne Ritchie said: "On 9 September [client] MM was feeling low and decided to look for the services of a prostitute.
"He accessed Dundee Craigslist and found an advert for a 15-minute appointment for sexual services. He emailed and asked how to arrange an appointment.
"Arrangements were made for him to meet a female. A short time later he changed his mind and decided not to attend. He sent a message saying he could no longer attend.
"He instantly received a reply which he perceived as quite hostile.
"The female stated he had wasted her time and she needed to be reimbursed.
"He was provided with the name Lauren Hunt and her bank details.
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"He was instructed to send £20. He was then informed he would need to pay a further £20.
"He complied and got a demand for a further £20. He sent a total of £60 and the following day blocked the number and deleted the emails."
The man was later catfished by further Facebook accounts - 'Sam Thomson' and 'Danni Thomson' - set up by Hunt to threaten exposing him, the court heard.
"Messages stated he needed to learn a lesson and demands for money were made. He was sent screenshots of his family Facebook accounts and the user began liking old posts on his timeline."
The man emptied his bank account by sending her a further £56.81 and showed her screenshots of his bank account to confirm she had cleaned him out.
Little more than a fortnight later, another ghost FB account - Sarah Smith - began sending him messages telling him he need to "learn a lesson."
Hunt told MM he had to stop blocking her social media accounts and keep sending her money, forcing him to send her 11 sums of money over the following days.
Ms Ritchie said: "He felt ashamed and embarrassed and sent money to prevent this information being shared."
When MM's account was cleared, he ended up calling the police.
While officers were interviewing him at his workplace, he received 15 calls from the accused which he never answered.
Calls continued for more than a week and she told him she would "ruin his life and career", at one point brazenly contacting his father.
Police were again contacted and the bank account he had paid nearly £700 into was traced to Hunt.
Hunt admitted extorting £716.81 from a man known only as MM from an address in the city's Lyon Street between 12 September and 17 October 2020.
She admitted acting with the intention of menacing him into a state of fear and alarm, and putting him in a state of apprehension that he would have private and personal information exposed to friends and family.
Hunt admitted extorting £50.59 from a second man - known as LC - by the same means between 22 and 27 August 2020. In that case, he sent her £50 - then transferred the last 59 pence from his bank.
As MM continued to ignore Hunt, she brazenly contacted his father and asked him to pass on a message telling him to get in touch. Police were again contacted and the bank account he had paid nearly £700 into was traced to Hunt.
Hunt admitted extorting £716.81 from a man known only as MM from an address in the city's Lyon Street between 12 September and 17 October 2020.
She admitted acting with the intention of menacing him into a state of fear and alarm, and putting him in a state of apprehension that he would have private and personal information exposed to friends and family.
Hunt also admitted extorting £50.59 from a second man - known as LC - by the same means between 22 and 27 August 2020.
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