Gambling addict posed as teen girl on Tinder to scam men out of £14,000

A gambling addict blackmailed his victims out of £14,000 by pretending to be a teenage girl on Tinder.

Jack Conway Baker, 23, created a fake profile under the name of Courtney Hall and lured her prospective dates into buying her naked pictures.

One of the victims bought a set of pictures for £50, before buying more and spending over £300, Truro Crown Court heard.

Conway Baker would then contact the men again as Courtney’s older brother, telling them she was underage and threatening to expose their activity to their families and friends.

Prosecutor Philip Lee told the court that one victim then agreed to pay £1,000, before receiving further demands through Snapchat and other forms of social media.

Mr Lee said Conway Baker then threatened the man by telling him he knew where he lived and worked.

The victim later turned to his parents for help, but in 2017 he received a message from Conway Baker, posing as a police officer, telling him the harassment would end if he paid a final time.

In total, he gave Conway Baker £7,500 and was left suffering from stress and anxiety, the court heard.

A second victim went through a similar ordeal, and paid Conway Baker a sum of £6,495.

He was left embarrassed and in financial difficulties, the court heard.

Martin Pearce, defending, told the court that Conway Baker earned £33,000 a year working as a groundsperson in a family business, but struggled with a severe gambling addiction.

Mr Pearce claimed he had since recovered, having sought professional help.

Conway Baker, who previously admitted two blackmail charges, was jailed three years and ordered to re-pay his victims for the amounts they paid him.

Sentencing him, judge Simon Carr said: ‘You developed a gambling addiction and needed money to fund it.

‘This was a plot of some sophistication and the threats were repeated and persistent.’