An Indiana man who posed as a teenage girl on social media and extorted men after obtaining nude photos of them was sentenced to three years in prison Friday, the Indianapolis Star reported.
Richard Brown, 55, of Indianapolis, was charged with corrupt business influence in May, a class 5 felony, according to WXIN. In a plea agreement reached Friday, Brown also was ordered to pay $11,830 in restitution and was banned from using the internet for the length of his sentence, the television station.
Prosecutors said Brown posed as a teenage girl on social media and asked men for nude photos of themselves.
Between March 2016 and November 2017, investigators said Brown targeted nine people from six states, WXIN reported. One victim made 83 different payments to Brown that totaled $4,150, prosecutors said. Another victim paid Brown 51 times for a total of $3,825, the affidavit said.
According to a probable cause affidavit, one victim, who sent a nude photo via a dating site, received a message from "Mark," who threatened to have the victim prosecuted and then persuaded the man into performing sexual acts online, the Star reported.
According to the affidavit, Brown also posed as a "Sgt. Carlos Evans," a retired member of the Indiana State Police and told another victim he could call his contacts in law enforcement and prosecute him for sending photos to the "juvenile girl," the newspaper reported.
The bogus sergeant told the victim to send him $1,000 in Visa gift cards from Walmart, The victim sent "Evans" one $500 gift card, according to the Star.
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