A member of the U.S. Marshals Service stands outside the Manhattan Federal Court building.
Bryan R. Smith | AFP | Getty Images
A New York woman was sentenced to time already served in jail for cyberstalking in a case where she was accused of “catfishing” a mystery high-profile CEO of a publicly traded corporation.
The woman, Sakoya Blackwood, 35, was charged in a Manhattan federal court indictment with trying to extort the unidentified millionaire out of up to $300,000 to keep her quiet about his sexual escapades, and about a false claim she threatened to make about him having sex with a minor.
Prosecutors have said in a court filing that in addition to that CEO, Blackwood “targeted numerous other potential victims — all wealthy and high-profile men — using fictitious identities, while camouflaging her ownership of the accounts deployed in her catfishing scheme.” She was not charged in connection with those other men.
At her sentencing Wednesday, Blackwood was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release for the attempted shakedown, which spanned six months in 2022. Judge Jesse Furman agreed with recommendations by her lawyers and probation officials.
But because she came to the United States from Jamaica as a child without legal immigration status, Blackwood now faces the risk of being deported and separated from her 12-year-old daughter, her lawyer said in a court filing.
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