Beersheba Man Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for Instagram Extortion
A Beersheba man was sentenced to five years in prison for extorting men on Instagram by posing as a minor, obtaining explicit photos, and threatening exposure.
A Beersheba resident has been sentenced to five years in prison following a plea bargain for operating a systematic extortion scheme targeting men on Instagram. Yitzhak Ben Hamo, 26, posed as a minor to obtain explicit photographs before threatening to expose the victims to their families and employers unless paid off.
According to the indictment submitted to the Beersheba District Court, Ben Hamo extorted thousands of shekels from at least 14 victims. Over a two-year period, he repeatedly created fake profiles, engaging in explicit conversations to gather compromising material. In one instance, after obtaining photos, he posed as the minor's father and demanded 5,000 shekels under threat of public exposure.
While multiple victims refused his demands and reported the incidents, Ben Hamo eventually succeeded by escalating his tactics. In the eleventh case, after receiving explicit images, he sent a victim detailed personal information, including ID numbers and home addresses, coercing him into paying 4,500 shekels. Emboldened by this success, he targeted three additional men, extracting tens of thousands of shekels, sometimes using couriers to collect cash.
In addition to the prison term, the court ordered Ben Hamo to pay financial compensation to his victims. Judge Dina Cohen rejected a defense request to ease his electronic monitoring restrictions prior to his surrender, though she granted a brief postponement for him to spend time with his newborn child.
