Police have arrested a 32-year-old Denton man they believe spearheaded a "sextortion" scam that involved more than 40 women in possibly three states.
UNC Greensboro Police say Kevin Kerney told women he was with a modeling agency in order to get photos of them and extort their social media accounts. The scam had victims in North Carolina, Virginia, and possibly South Carolina.
UNCG Police were alerted to the scam by a student. They later discovered five students were scammed during a three-month investigation.
Police believe there may have been other victims.
The social media scam offered young women modeling opportunities. The offer was followed by a request to submit revealing photos of themselves. After receiving the photos, Kerney allegedly threatened to post them publicly unless they shared private information like social media accounts and passwords.
Kerney is currently charged with five counts of Felony Extortion and five counts of Misdemeanor Cyberstalking. More charges are pending.
"The case started with the bravery of these five girls that came forward," said UNCG Detective Jamie Young, "Them being able to do that really helped us out. I understand that people might be skeptical and hesitant about doing that, which I’m sure they were at the time, but to be able to show how we saw this case through I think that speaks volumes for it."
Detective Young led the investigation that included law enforcement agencies from other jurisdictions as well as the SBI.
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