A man from Preston in Lancashire was jailed on Wednesday (10) for seven years and three months for blackmailing two victims over a period of three years, a statement said.
Zeashan Mahmood, 30, of Foxtail Close in Clifton, pleaded guilty to two counts of blackmail and three counts of distributing indecent images with the intent to cause distress, the Greater Manchester Police said.
During the trial at Preston Crown Court, two victims came forward to testify against Mahmood. The court heard that Mahmood had received more than £80,000 from victims in three years.
Police said that the first victim disclosed private pictures and videos to Mahmood in 2017. A year later, he asked her to send money.
Later, he threatened her on Instagram saying that he would share the private pictures and videos online if she didn't send him money. Eventually, the first victim sent around £20,000 in payments.
The second victim disclosed an intimate sexual experience she had with a boyfriend. He claimed that he had a video of that incident and demanded £7,000. He threatened that he would send the video to her family and friends if she did not oblige to pay, the court heard.
Besides, he also asked her to send intimate pictures, videos and texts of a sexual nature.
He claimed that the blackmail was part of his involvement in an organised crime group and he needed the amount to stop the videos from being published.
Mahmood later created more fake Instagram accounts, which he used to message the victim and convince her that his claim was real so that she would continue sending sexual content and money to him.
Police said that the second victim had sent more than £66,000 to the culprit. Despite this, he posted the videos online and urged others to share those.
When the crime was reported to the police, he sent emails with attachments of sexual images of the victim, and threatened to expose her further, the statement added.
The Greater Manchester Police and Lancashire Police arrested Mahmood in February last year.
Detective Constable Brundrett, of GMP Manchester's Criminal Investigation Department, said: "I would like to thank the victims for having the bravery to speak out about this horrific and long-term abuse. Over three years, Mahmood operated a web of lies and manipulated the victims to get exactly what he wanted, when he wanted.
"The severity of these offences should not be underestimated. Today's sentence is much deserved and reaffirms our commitment as police officers to put these perpetrators behind bars and prevent this awful crime from occurring."
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