Oakland man arrested for allegedly extorting Grindr user. He told the cops he was just a gigolo

OAKLAND Police here arrested a man for allegedly threatening to tell another man s wife about the victim s sexual interest in men but when police confronted him about the alleged extortion he had a less-than-innocent explanation The suspect a -year-old Oakland resident explained he was totally a prostitute who d been paid for sexual services by the victim He also admitted to receiving a hush money payment but declared that was due to his disgust with the alleged victim who he claimed had hired him when the victim s kid was sleeping in the house according to administration Police were notified of the alleged extortion plot in January by a man who claimed he had met the -year-old Oakland man on Grindr a dating application for LGTBQ people After the two met the Oakland resident threatened to tell the victim s wife about it unless he was paid officers commented Once receiving payment the man allegedly sent the victim a second request for cash according to bureaucrats Police identified the suspect in part because Oakland police had already arrested him in a different episode He faces a pending misdemeanor animal cruelty charge for allegedly throwing his puppy against the wall in his apartment on Jan court records show He was arrested on suspicion of extortion in late June but still hasn t been charged in that inspection The man claimed he never reached out to the victim s family and didn t mean to request the second payment but that his finger must have slipped leadership stated Extortion plots via social media have become part of the wide berth of new age white collar crimes that took form with the proliferation of social media The bulk famous such example was the massive evidence breach of Ashley Madison a dating app for married people which was exposed to contain numerous fake profiles after the hack More in the last few days in Alameda County police are actively exploring a man who was extorted for after meeting someone on a Christian dating operation Things seem to be going fine until he received an unsolicited picture of female genitals which was rapidly followed by a purported San Francisco detective informing him he d received child pornography and needed to pay to avoid felony charges Meanwhile in Pleasanton executives say they re exploring reports that a social media influencer was sent by someone who promptly began insisting she return the money then sent her death threats and pictures of severed heads and mutilated human corpses when she didn t right now comply No arrests have been released in either situation