A mother of one has been identified as the leader of a gang that extorted at least 31 people with fake prostitutes, police in the southeastern Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro said.
Rayene Lima, who identifies herself as an influencer, showed off a luxurious lifestyle on Instagram and remained at large until Monday.
Civil Police Chief Márcia Beck told CNN Brazil that Lima used some of the money to pay for procedures to alter her beauty.
“They did a rhinoplasty, they did a cheek lift,” Lima says in a video. ‘They operated on my dark circles, they did liposuction and now they are going to put in my silicone implants.’
The content creator’s brother, Ryan Lima, and his cousin, Sarah Borges, were arrested on Friday.
Authorities discovered that the trio used online messaging applications to attack their victims.
A woman presented herself as a prostitute with the aim of asking the client to provide her with intimate photographs of herself.
The talks would conclude without the parties meeting and resume the next day, when another scammer would approach the target and pretend to be a member of a militia, a mafia-like paramilitary group.
Authorities in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro have identified Rayane Lima as the leader of a gang that extorted at least 31 people using profiles of fake prostitutes.
Authorities discovered that the criminal group led by Rayene Lima extorted its victims by threatening to publish intimate photographs if they did not make payments ranging between $100 and $600.
Civil Police investigators intercepted a conversation in which one of the suspects told a client that they had not shown up for a sexual encounter.
Police discovered they would demand between $100 and $600 for the meetings and threatened the victims with publishing their images unless they paid.
Text messages reviewed by TV Globo showed the extreme measures the scammers employed to carry out their threats.
‘I’m just going to let you know one thing. I and four other militiamen are going to your house and I am going to resolve this in my own way,’ they wrote through a WhatsApp message.
Reyene Lima remained at large as of Monday. Authorities in Rio de Janeiro identified her as the leader of a gang that used profiles of fake prostitutes to extort potential clients.
Reyene claimed to have undergone rhinoplasty and a cheek lift. She also said she had had liposuction and planned to get breast implants.
‘I have no mercy. “We are sending messages because we don’t want to oppress anyone’s children or wives.”
The victim waited an hour to respond and agreed to pay.
“Good evening,” the customer wrote. ‘I am going to settle the amount amicably. Get my family out of this. Just tell me the amount.
Beck believes the number of victims could be much higher because there may be people who are too embarrassed to come forward and file a complaint.