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Beauty influencer faces jail over pedophile hunting scam

A beauty influencer and her accomplices face up to 15 years in jail after being accused of membership of a gang extorting money from paedophiles.

Ekaterina Kropaneva, 21, posed as a minor, alongside two underage girls, according Russian criminal investigators. They acted to lure men seeking sex with children, jurors in an ongoing trial have been told.

Her task was described as “fishing pedophiles with bait”.

She was 18 at the time and was one of three females in a gang of 14 which sought men on the internet promising meetings with underage girls. The other two female members were minors, aged 15.

Ekaterina Kropaneva, 21, allegedly went 'fishing for pedophiles' in an attempt to extort the men.
Ekaterina Kropaneva, 21, allegedly went 'fishing for pedophiles' in an attempt to extort the men. Source: Australscope

After giving up working with the gang, Ms Kropaneva became a popular beauty blogger and influencer, offering online classes, but her past has caught up with her, investigators say.

The gang was run by a man identified as Alexander K, a university graduate and son of a police officer, described as the brains behind the scam.

“When they and their victims got engaged in a conversation, the other members of the gang became involved,” said Alexander Sapegin, of the Russian Investigative Committee (IC).

“The men created profiles on behalf of the girls, and they got acquainted with [clients] online, talked to them, including on intimate subjects.

“They said they were underage, and offered to meet.

“Each of the men who came for dates were met by the girls, participants of the gang, who claimed they were underage.”

Then male members of the gang moved in and threatened to turn the clients over to police and publish their online messages - unless they paid up.

The court was told of evidence of almost AUD$18,000 in bribes taken from at least 13 known men seeking underage sex.

These targeted paedophiles were aged 35 to 55 included men previously convicted of rape.
These targeted paedophiles were aged 35 to 55 included men previously convicted of rape. Source: Australscope

These paedophiles were aged 35 to 55 included men previously convicted of rape.

“One of the victims of the extortionists appealed to the police,” said Sapegin.

This led to a long-running criminal investigation exposing the scheme, according to investigators.

A police statement said: “Officers identified not only the members of the criminal group, but also other victims.

“It was possible to detain all the suspects, as well as to identify and document a whole series of crimes committed by them in the city of Yekaterinburg.

“It turned out that they used both real photos of the [female gang] members but also fake ones”.

The accused face from seven to 15 years in jail, local reports say. Among them accused is a former police officer and a medical student.

The court case is continuing.

Australscope

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