Canada- Tongan Justin Tongun, 21, charged in multiple sextortion cases involving males, in 4 provinces, poss. with international ties, Winnipeg, 2023

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https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/sextortion-charges-winnipeg-1.6891238

rbbm.
''A 21-year-old Winnipeg man is facing numerous extortion charges, accused of threatening to post intimate images online unless he was paid money by victims across four provinces — at least two of whom were minors, police say.

Tongan Justin Tongun, 21, has been charged with 10 counts of extortion, the Winnipeg Police Service said Tuesday.

The investigation began in January after a man in his 20s came forward to Winnipeg police, saying he shared intimate images with someone online who presented themselves as a young woman.

After he sent the images, the man said the accused threatened to share them online unless he sent money, according to Winnipeg police.

They identified three more victims in February and Tongun was charged with four counts of extortion.

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A subsequent investigation involving the RCMP, along with Ontario's York region, Hamilton and Halton police services, found six more male victims from Manitoba, Alberta, Ontario and Prince Edward Island, Winnipeg police say.

On June 11, Tongun was charged with six additional counts of extortion as a result.

All of the victims were under the age of 30, including at least two under 18, Sgt. Trevor Thompson with the Winnipeg Police Service's financial crimes unit said at a Tuesday news conference.

Police believe there are likely more victims and are encouraging them to come forward, Thompson said.''

''Investigators say they believe the crimes may have international ties, because there is evidence money was transferred overseas.''

 

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Winnipeg police charge man in expansive sexual extortion case

Winnipeg police have charged a man accused of extorting people who sent him sexual images of themselves.

www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com

''Winnipeg police have charged a man accused of extorting people who sent him sexual images of themselves.
Police say Tongun Justin Tongun faces 10 counts of extortion and that the alleged crimes may have international ties.
Officers began their investigation in January, when a man in his 20s said he had sent intimate images of himself to the accused, who had purported to be a young woman.
It’s alleged Tongun then threatened to share the images online unless the victim sent money.
Police say the young man e-transferred money to avoid having his images shared and he then notified police.

Officers identified nine other potential victims across the country and they believe money was transferred overseas.
Tongun has been released on an undertaking as mandated by the Criminal Code.
Sexual extortion is a form of online blackmail that occurs when someone threatens to distribute sexually intimate images of victims unless the suspect receives money.''

Winnipeg man charged with 'sextortion' that spanned multiple provinces

A Winnipeg man has been charged in connection with multiple instances of “sextortion” that spanned multiple provinces.

www.iheartradio.ca

''The charges have not been proven in court. Tongun was released on an undertaking as mandated by the Criminal Code.
Stephen Sauer, the executive director of Cybertip.ca, says in the last 12 months, they have received more than 3,400 reports of sextortion through the organization’s tip lines, and have seen a 50 per cent increase in sextortion victims seeking help.
“This is close to 80 victims a week, and 11 a day,” Sauer said.
Sauer adds a lot of people victimized by sextortion do not report it.
“Most individuals are trying to deal with this on their own, so the true scale of the problem is much greater than what these numbers suggest,” he said.
Sauer adds victims of sextortion should screenshot the online communications to help with the investigation, stop the communication and payments, notify your financial institution and report the incident to police and cybertip.ca.''