LA man jailed after extorting $150,000 from gay men with “bait ads” offering sex
Tyler Buchanan threatened to share explicit messages unless victims paid him
A man has been jailed by a Los Angeles court after extorting at least $150,000 from gay men who responded to “bait ads” offering sex services for hire.
Tyler Buchanan, 29, was sentenced to five years in prison and ordered to pay almost $68,000 to the men he extorted, NBC’s LA affiliate KNBC reports.
Buchanan targeted gay men in Southern California by placing ads on various websites, including Craigslist, offering sex services.
When someone contacted a number attached to the ads, Buchanan would encourage them to send sexually explicit messages, or messages confirming they wished to hire him for sex.
Buchanan would then threaten to share their conversations or report the men to police for soliciting for prostitution, unless they agreed to pay him to maintain his silence.
He operated the scheme for six years, the court heard, posting more than 1,300 adverts and demanding payments of between $100 and $4,000 from victims.
One man in Los Angeles paid Buchanan more than $22,000 for his silence, with Buchanan texting him, “You’ll pay for it one way or another. You choose.”
Buchanan pleaded guilty to three felony charges: using the internet to facilitate unlawful activist, transmitting threatening communications with intent to extort, and receiving and disposing of the money he extorted.
He told the court that he was “a damaged and angry person and desperate for money” when he started his scheme. “I broke the law and acted like a person I’m not proud of,” he added. “I took money from other people and I scared them.'”
U.S. District Judge Otis D. Wright II said Buchanan “tormented numerous victims over many years,” sentencing him to five years in prison and ordering him to pay his victims $67,567.
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