Two women blackmailed almost a dozen men out of nearly £122,000 by making them send pictures of their genitals – and then claimed to be 15-year-old girls.
Rocha Lynch, 19, and Caitlin Rattray, 21, used the vast sums of money they extorted from their victims to fund a lavish lifestyle that included designer clothes and luxury hotels.
One victim was so terrified his girlfriend would find out he handed over £115,000 of his dead mother’s inheritance, Aberdeen Sheriff Court was told.
Lynch and Rattray, both of Royal Deeside, sent a series of men sexual images of themselves before claiming to be underage and warned they’d be branded “paedos” if they didn’t pay up.
The court heard 11 men – including a British soldier – were taken in by the scam.
Fiscal depute Dylan Middleton told the court that many of the men were sent unsolicited intimate images after making contact with the two women.
However, on several occasions, the men would return intimate pictures of their private parts.
Lynch and Rattray would then threaten to expose the chat to their wives and girlfriends.
On a number of occasions, Lynch told the men she was only 15 years old after they had exchanged photos.
She would then demand cash in exchange for her silence.
One man, a soldier in the British Army, met Lynch at a pub in Ballater where they struck up a friendship and she quickly asked him for a loan of money.
Following this both Lynch and Rattray began threatening him, saying they would inform the army he requested intimate images from them unless he gave them money.
“He was alarmed by this and felt he had no other option but to transfer more money as instructed,” Mr Middleton said.
‘S*** I’ve got can ruin your life’
The threats continued with the pair often contacting the soldier via Facebook and requesting more money.
Mr Middleton the situation escalated, with Lynch threatening to tell the man’s family and claiming she was “under 18”, which would make him “a paedo”.
When police executed a search warrant in August 2021 at Rattray’s home they found a phone where she tells the squaddie: “F*** you over 10x worse, you’re a pedo, mate.
“S*** I’ve got can ruin your life.”
Another victim was messaged by Lynch on Snapchat, where she wished him a happy birthday. Soon, however, she asked him for money to pay her rent.
“He felt sorry for Ms Lynch and agreed to transfer £100,” Mr Middleton told the court.
Lynch then sent him a number of unsolicited images that he believed to be of her.
When she asked him to transfer £1,000 and he refused she then threatened to inform his friends and family that he had purchased “nudes” from her.
Pair openly told friends they were blackmailing men
He continued to send her money from several different accounts due to being scared his girlfriend might find out.
It was eventually discovered by the man’s father that between September and November 2020 he had transferred a total of £115,000 to Lynch.
The scam drained almost all the money he’d been left following the death of his mother, the court was told.
Mr Middleton said that Lynch and Rattray used the money to live an extravagant lifestyle, where they would buy expensive clothes and stay at luxury hotels with friends.
The pair openly disclosed to their friends that the funds were obtained by blackmailing men, the court was told.
Lynch, of Sycamore Road, Banchory, pleaded guilty to eight charges of extortion, while Rattray, of Craigview Place, Ballater, admitted five charges of extortion.
Defence solicitor for Lynch, Iain Hingston, and Rattray’s lawyer, Kevin Longino, called for reports to be carried out into their client’s background.
Sheriff Morag McLaughlin deferred sentence on Lynch and Rattray in order for a criminal justice social work report and a restriction of liberty order assessment to be carried out.
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