A mother of one has been named as the leader of a gang that extorted at least 31 people with fake prostitutes, police in the southeastern Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro said.
Rayene Lima, who identifies as an influencer, has flaunted a lavish lifestyle on Instagram and remained on the run Monday.
Civil Police Chief Márcia Beck said CNN Brasil that Lima used part of the money to pay for procedures to alter her beauty.
“I had a rhinoplasty and a cheek lift,” Lima says in a video. ‘I had my dark circles done, I had liposuction and now I will receive my silicone implants.
The content creator’s brother, Ryan Lima, and his cousin, Sarah Borges, were arrested Friday.
Authorities discovered the trio was using online messaging apps to target their victims.
A woman would pose as a call girl in order to ask the client to provide intimate photos of herself.
The conversations would end without the parties meeting and would resume the next day when another scammer would reach out to the target and claim she was a member of a militia, a mafia-style paramilitary group.
Authorities in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro have identified Rayane Lima as the leader of a gang that extorted at least 31 people using the profiles of fake prostitutes.
Authorities discovered that the criminal group led by Rayene Lima would extort its victims by threatening to release intimate photos if they did not make payments between $100 and $600.
Civil police investigators intercepted a conversation in which one of the suspects told a customer that he had failed to show up for sexual intercourse.
Police found she would demand between $100 and $600 for the encounters and threatened the victims with release of their images if they did not pay.
Text messages seen by TV Globo show the extreme measures used by scammers to carry out their threats.
“I’ll just let you know one thing. I am going to you, me and four other militiamen, and I will solve this problem my way,” they wrote via a WhatsApp message.
Reyene Lima remained at large as of Monday. Authorities in Rio de Janeiro identified her as the leader of a gang that used profiles of fake prostitutes to extort potential clients.
Reyene claimed to have had a rhinoplasty as well as a cheek lift. She also said she had liposuction and was considering breast implants.
“I have no pity. We send messages because we do not want to oppress anyone’s children or wives.
The victim waited an hour to respond and agreed to pay.
“Good evening,” writes the customer. “I will settle the amount amicably. Get my family out of there. Just tell me the amount.
Beck estimates the number of victims could be much higher, as some people might be too ashamed to come forward and file a complaint.