A Jamaican woman, 34-year-old Sakoya Blackwood, has been arrested and charged in New York for allegedly catfishing and extorting the CEO of an unnamed public company, according to the United States Department of Justice (DOJ).
According to prosecutors, Blackwood, dubbed the ‘Jamaican Tinder Swindler’ based on the name of a popular Netflix documentary, threatened to release sexually explicit photographs and communications involving the CEO, referred to as “Victim-1” in court documents. She reportedly threatened multiple other victims.
Blackwood, who lives in the Bronx in New York, is charged with making interstate communications with intent to extort, cyberstalking and extortion, according to court documents.
The charges each carry a maximum sentence of two, five and 20 years in prison, respectively, meaning Blackwood could face up to 27 years in total in prison if convicted of all the charges.
“No one should have to fear public humiliation and financial loss from the release of personal, private information,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement.
“As alleged, Sakoya Blackwood created that very fear and sought to capitalise on it for her own personal gain,” he said, adding that “I commend the victim for reporting this alleged criminal activity, and encourage anyone else who believes they may have been a victim of this scheme to contact the FBI.”
The DOJ said Blackwood used multiple online identities to target the CEO and other wealthy,…
