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Zeashan Mahmood made various fake Instagram accounts to hound his victims who, in total, sent him more than £80,000 in a desperate attempt to stop the material being shared. The 30-year-old bully was reported to police, but then sent a victim Moonpig cards demanding further cash.

The callous creep was jailed for seven years and three months yesterday at Preston Crown Court after pleading guilty to two counts of blackmail and three counts of distributing indecent images with intent to cause distress.

The court heard Mahmood sent one victim an email saying “guess who is alive” and another with her intimate pictures attached to it.

One of his victims had disclosed private pictures and videos to Mahmood in 2017. In January 2018, he told her he was in financial difficulty and pressured her to send him money, Manchester Evening News says.

The defendant then contacted her via Instagram under an alias and threatened her, demanding that she send him more money or he would share the private pictures and videos online. He also made threats against her loved ones if she did not comply, so she went on to send him £20,000 in payments.

Mahmood’s second victim told the court how she had disclosed to him an intimate sexual experience she had with a boyfriend previously. He went on to claim that he had a video of this incident and then demanded £7,000 from her, all the while threatening that he would send the video to her family and friends if she did not pay the fee.

In addition, Mahmood, from Salford, Greater Manchester, demanded the victim send intimate pictures, videos and texts of a sexual nature and that, if she did not comply, he would increase the fee. The defendant told the victim that he needed money to stop the videos from being published and said the blackmail was part of his involvement in an organised crime group.

He went on to create more fake Instagram accounts, which he used to message the second victim and convince her that his claim was real so that she would continue sending sexual content and money to him. Across a three year period, the victim sent Mahmood in excess of £66,000.

Despite the money beig handed over to Mahmood, he proceeded to post the videos he’d received of the victim onto the internet, where he encouraged users to share them around. Upon the victim’s report to police, the defendant sent Moonpig cards to her address, telling her “money is needed”.

He also sent emails, stating “guess who is alive” with attachments of sexual images of the victim, threatening to finally expose her further. He was eventually arrested in February 2021 as part of a joint effort between Greater Manchester Police and Lancashire Police.

Detective Constable Brundrett, of Greater Manchester Police’s Manchester’s Criminal Investigation Department, said: “I would like to thank the victims for having the bravery to speak out about this horrific and long-term abuse.

“Over three years, Mahmood operated a web of lies and manipulated the victims to get exactly what he wanted, when he wanted.

“The severity of these offences should not be underestimated. Today’s sentence is much deserved and reaffirms our commitment as police officers to put these perpetrators behind bars and prevent this awful crime from occurring.”

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