Two UK Men Found Guilty of Blackmailing Gay Men on Grindr

Two men from the United Kingdom, who were accused of blackmailing gay men on the gay hookup app Grindr, have been found guilty of their crimes and will be heading to prison, Gay Star News reports.

It was reported last month that Nathanael Foster and Adam Webb, both 26, were charged with blackmailing gay men for money by using Grindr. They were both charged with two counts of blackmail.

The men pretended to be attractive 15-year-olds (one year under the age of consent) on the gay dating app and attempted to get thousands of pounds out of the guys who contacted them. Foster and Webb filmed their encounters with men in order to extort money from victims.

Gloucester Crown Court heard that the duo blackmailed two men and one of the victims even gave them $25,000.

Prosecutor Janine Wood said that one of the victims went to the police when he was being blackmailed. Police discovered the second man, handed the duo the money, during their investigation.

Foster and Webb admitted to the two counts of blackmail.

"They set up a profile and were in contact with the first victim," Wood told the Gloucester Citizen. "He agreed to meet them and they put forward that they were going to inform others about his activities and what his interests were, and they suggested he paid them �10,000 to forget it."

Wood adds: "He bought himself some time, spoke to a friend and told police. Police discovered another victim and got in contact with him. He had already met them in Gloucester and they had set the same trap and he agreed he would pay the money. They even went back to his house with him and they asked him for �10,000. They thought he was messing them around and so then asked for �15,000. They stayed with him for the rest of the day and got the �15,000."

Foster's attorney, Matthew Harbinson, argued that the duo was trying to catch men interested in underage teens.

Foster and Webb were told they will be going to prison but they will receive their sentence on August 21.