A 51year-old Dobbs Ferry man was the victim of extortion after engaging in a Craigslist tryst involving a woman charging for sex, police said.
On June 29, Dobbs Ferry Police arrested 22-year-old Erica Lee of Mount Vernon on charges of Grand Larceny because she allegedly threatened the the married resident that if he did not give her $200, she would tell his wife about his infidelity.
The victim reported that between June 1 and June 28, he had engaged in a tryst with the young woman, who initially charged $50 per night and gradually raised her rates to $60 and then $100. The victim said they'd met a number of times in June.
Finally, the woman told the man she'd tell his wife if he did not give her $200. On June 28, the victim called police to report the extortion.
Dobbs Ferry detectives and a member of the Greenburgh Drug and Alcohol Task Force set up a sting, in which police followed the victim to his meeting place with the woman, waited for the transaction to take place, and then apprehended her.
Lee was charged with Grand Larceny—even though a $200 theft would not normally be consinsidered as serious under NY penal law—due to the additional extortion.
She was processed, arraigned and released on $500 bail.
Police said the man's money was being held as evidence but would ultimately be returned to him.
