Ottawa police say they’ve laid charges against two men and are in search of another after a series of incidents that saw men lured to the west end of the city on the promise of meeting a woman only to be extorted.
Police said Thursday they started investigating the online dating scam in early August.
Victims arrived at agreed upon locations expected to meet someone they’d spoken with via online dating only to be confronted by suspects who intimidated them into paying money, according to investigators.
Police said the suspects threatened to expose the victims publicly, claiming they had been communicating with an underage girl.
Two Ottawa men — 24-year-old Omer Ahmed and 23-year-old Abu-Obaidah Moalimishak — are now facing charges of robbery, conspiracy to commit an indictable offence, intimidation by violence, kidnapping and extortion.
A third suspect, 24-year-old Guled Jinje, is wanted for robbery, kidnapping, extortion and harassment by means of repeated telecommunications. Ottawa police have released a photo of the suspect.
Police also believe there may be more victims and are asking anyone who fell prey to the scam to contact them at 613-236-1222 ext. 5116. Anonymous tips can be submitted via Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.