A West Allis man is accused of 'catfishing' and blackmailing a Mequon man
A 25-year-old West Allis man has been accused of blackmailing a Mequon man and "catfishing" online, pretending to be a woman.
Tyler J. Barwick was charged July 29 in Ozaukee County Circuit Court with stalking and threatening to communicate derogatory information, both felonies.
According to the criminal complaint:
The 39-year-old Mequon man reported that since November 2020 he had been blackmailed into paying about $40,000 to someone who was threatening to tell his wife he had cheated if he didn't pay.
Mequon police reports said Barwick used a social media profile purporting to be a woman, exchanged sexually explicit content with the man and threatened to tell his wife the man had sought to solicit prostitution services.
The initial contact between the two was in October or November 2020, when Barwick purchased tools from the man via Facebook.
The man then learned "that Barwick's girlfriend had worked at a strip club, and asked Barwick if they knew of any females willing to do sexual favors," the complaint said. An unknown woman then reached out to the man regarding sexual favors and sent explicit photos.
Barwick told police he had created a fake phone number and reached out to the man pretending to be a woman, the complaint said. The two discussed meeting and exchanging money for sexual acts, and the man initially voluntarily sent a payment, but later indicated he was not willing to pay after a meetup never occurred.
The man then told Barwick, posing as the woman , that "he was not interested in paying for sexual services." In response, the woman said she would make him pay either way. He was told if he didn't pay, the woman would tell his wife.
The criminal complaint said the man provided officials with bank statements detailing 154 transactions he had sent to a Paypal account in the name of Barwick's mother in 2021, totaling $24,226. The man also told authorities he met with Barwick in person 25-30 times to make cash payments.
Barwick admitted to calling the man's work and threatening to get the man fired, although he never intended to follow through on that threat, the complaint said. He also admitted to creating fake Facebook profiles pretending to be the woman.
The man ultimately contacted Mequon police in July.
Barwick made his initial court appearance July 29 and is free on $15,000 cash bond. He is scheduled to be in court next on Sept. 21 for further proceedings.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: West Allis man charged with blackmail
