Man pleads guilty to cyberstalking, sextortion in Colorado, 2 states

Heather Willard
·3 min read
2

DENVER (KDVR) — A 28-year-old man pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court on Wednesday to cyberstalking, sextortion and identity theft in schemes that crossed state borders, with victims in Colorado, Ohio and Washington.

Omoruyi O. Uwadiae was charged in the Southern District of Ohio in April through a bill of information, rather than an indictment. He pleaded guilty to 22 charges, namely:

  • Eight counts of cyberstalking, each of which is punishable by up to five years in prison

  • Seven counts of making interstate communications with the intent to extort, each punishable by up to two years in prison

  • Seven counts of unlawfully using a means of identification, each punishable by up to five years in prison

According to the plea agreement, Uwadiae targeted young gay men on Grindr, a dating app, among other sites. After contacting someone, he would obtain sexually explicit materials from the victims and then use the content to extort them for money, sex or to make damaging admissions such as being a racist, the plea agreement stated.

Court records say Uwadiae admitted to threatening to distribute the materials on the internet and to victims’ specific friends, family members and employers, among others. Southern District Court of Ohio records also say that he carried out those threats multiple times.

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James Allbee, a FOX31 tactical expert and private investigator, has dealt with these types of cases and told FOX31’s Gabby Easterwood that these cases are more common than some may think.

“It’s a lot more common than we want to think and it’s embarrassing. A lot of these people don’t want to come forward and report to law enforcement. It’s easier to pay them off a couple hundred bucks,” Allbee said.

Many of the victims had not publicly disclosed their sexual orientation, prosecutors argued, and Uwadiae “outed” their identity against their wishes. Uwadiae admitted to also using various victims’ identifications to create fake social media accounts, which he then used to post their personal information.

According to the Southern District Court of Ohio, Uwadiae demanded that one victim, a student at Ohio State University, either pay him $200 or have sex with him. When the student did not concur and comply, Uwadiae created fake social media accounts using actual photos of the victim and accompanying them with statements like “this guy is gay, see pics for evidence.”

In this case, the victim had previously told Uwadiae that he was concerned his family would react negatively if his sexual identity were to be made public.

“With internet usage and online dating up, the likelihood of someone becoming a victim is on the rise. Unfortunately, it seems like these are going to be a growing trend, especially I mean obviously everybody is on the internet, these types of cases are becoming more and more common,” Allbee said.

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The FBI recommends that anyone being exploited take the following actions:

  • Report the predator’s account through the platform’s safety features.

  • Block the predator.

  • Save the profile or messages as they can help law enforcement identify and stop the predator.

  • Ask for help from law enforcement before sending money or more images.

A sentencing date has not been included in federal court records.

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