Israeli official pays $1 million for gay dating
An Israeli court has sentenced Tal Bashir, a Jerusalem resident, to 4.5 years in prison for extorting NIS 1,250,000 from a high-ranking municipal official. The convict will also pay compensation to the victim in the amount of NIS 200,000.
Tal has been found involved in fraud using the gay and bisexual dating app Grindr. Through fake profiles, he met men and offered them sexual favors in exchange for money, and then disappeared after receiving the payment.
While searching for another victim, Tal learned that one of the questionnaires belonged to a high-ranking official in the Jerusalem municipality. Bashir built an entire scheme for the purpose of subsequent extortion.
He registered a profile and posted a photo of a teenager he knew. Then he went to the official with a proposal for acquaintance. Correspondence began between the blackmailer and the victim, which ended with defining a place and time for the meeting.
Then Tal persuaded the young man, under the picture and whose name matches his name, to meet the official.
Bashir filmed the meeting between the teenager and the municipal employee, in which he began to blackmail the latter. Tal threatened to release the recording and send it to all municipality employees. Moreover, the blackmailer impersonated a member of an influential criminal group (in fact, he was not), which allegedly had links to the police. He warned that reporting to law enforcement agencies could lead to serious bodily injury to the official.
Tal demanded 15 thousand shekels for the removal of the video, but he did not stop after receiving the money. Every now and then, the amount of silence increased – 35,000 shekels, 300,000, 450,000, etc.
The official was forced to withdraw funds from all savings programs, the pension fund, and the sale of securities.
Tal did not stop, but also demanded that he buy expensive things, such as a Rolex.
In addition, the offender constantly threatened not only to promote the intimate side of the victim’s life, but also to break his legs and arms, and also to disable him.
After the official saw the blackmailer’s appetite growing, he lodged a complaint with the police. The victim came to the meeting with Tal already with money. He was immediately arrested in flagrante delicto.
Tal Bashir was tried repeatedly in the past: in 2013 he was convicted of assault and threats, in 2016 – of assaulting a partner, in 2017 – of threats, but he did not serve any time in prison.
