A woman and her boyfriend created fictitious female online personas to target men, whom they later extorted money from by threatening to report their interactions with purported minors to the police.

On March 5, the 20-year-old woman pleaded guilty to a cheating charge and two counts of extortion.

Seven other charges will be taken into consideration during her sentencing. She cannot be named as she was below 18 years old when she was involved in at least one of these seven charges.

The case involving her 23-year-old boyfriend is still pending. He also cannot be named, as doing so could lead to her identity.

Through their honeytrap ruse, the couple cheated one of their victims into handing over $3,500.

They also extorted around $12,000 in total from other victims, including the father of a man they targeted.

On Jan 13, 2024, the couple created a fictitious persona named “Farah” on messaging platform Telegram.

“Farah” then contacted V1, a 25-year-old man, and they chatted about sexual activities.

On Jan 28, 2024, the offender and her boyfriend created another fictitious persona named “Mooppp”, and engaged V1, purporting to be Farah’s brother.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Mark Chia said: “‘Mooppp’ claimed that he had seen V1’s conversation with ‘Farah’ with the sexual elements and told V1 that ‘Farah’ was not of a ‘legal age’.

“‘Mooppp’ demanded that V1 pay $1,500 to settle the matter or be reported to the police, but V1 said he was only able to pay $750.”

“Mooppp” accepted the offer, and V1 transferred over the amount.

The next day, “Mooppp” told V1 that Farah was admitted to hospital for “anxiety attacks” and ordered the victim to cover the purported hospital bills.

V1 then borrowed $3,500 from licensed moneylenders and handed the money to the offender’s boyfriend, who pretended to be Mooppp’s cousin.

V1 later blocked “Mooppp” from contacting him and lodged a police report.

By using a similar method, the couple extorted more than $11,000 in total from V2, a 26-year-old man, in March 2024.

Some time before August that year, the couple recruited two other people – a 20-year-old man identified as B2, and a 17-year-old girl identified as B3 – to join their scheme.

They then created a fictitious persona called “Tiara” on dating platform Heymandi on Aug 25, 2024.

“Tiara” then engaged a man identified as V3, and they arranged to meet near Dakota MRT station two days later.

At around 7pm on Aug 27, 2024, the 17-year-old girl, pretending to be Tiara, approached the 23-year-old man and sat beside him.

The man later touched the girl’s shoulders with his hand and stroked her hair.

The DPP said: “At around 7.10pm, (the woman) approached the two. She introduced herself as ‘Tiara’s sister’ and confronted V3 for touching B3, whom she alleged was only 16 years old.

“The accused informed V3 that she had taken photographs of him touching B3.”

After that, the woman called her boyfriend and B2. The two men, who arrived at the scene, then pretended to be “Tiara’s” family members.

The woman and B2 then began threatening V3, demanding that he “settle the matter” with them. B2 also said that the police would be alerted if he failed to give them money.

V3 then phoned his 59-year-old father, identified in court documents as V4, and told him about his predicament.

V4 and V3 transferred $1,000 in total via PayNow to an account designated by B2. The offenders then released V3 and split their ill-gotten gains among themselves.

V4 later accompanied his son to lodge a police report, and the woman was arrested on Aug 29, 2024.

On March 5, the court called for a report to assess her suitability for reformative training.

Young offenders ordered to undergo reformative training are detained in a centre to undergo a strict regimen that can include foot drills and counselling.

She will be sentenced in April.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.