Boy from Oz

Australian Grindr user headed to prison following botched hookup heist

An Australian man has landed himself in jail for 20 months after impersonating a police officer and extorting money from a man he met on Grindr.

25-year-old Jayson Hastie lured an older man he met via the gay dating app using the alias “Alex.” Hastie sent a series of sexually explicit messages over a two week period to his victim before offering to meet him at a beach called Bass Point, about 70 miles south of Sydney. Hastie never showed up to their first scheduled meeting but convinced the victim to meet up again two days later. This time, Hastie came prepared.

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An accomplice initially greeted the victim before Hastie arrived and declared himself a police officer. He then forced the victim to withdraw AUS$2,000 (roughly $1,400 USD) from an ATM and to agree to weekly payments in order to keep the incident quiet. Hastie threatened to expose the man in public by leaking their chat messages and pictures. Hastie also threatened him with violence.

Real police have not revealed the identity of the victim. They did, however, charge Jayson Hastie with kidnapping, demanding money with menace and impersonating a police officer. Courts dismissed the kidnapping charge as part of a plea deal. Hastie received 20 months in prison for his crime.

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