Teens blackmailed by West Hempstead sex offender

A West Hempstead sex offender has allegedly struck again, this time luring dozens of teenagers into his orbit, persuading them to pose in compromising positions and then extorting them for money, Brooklyn federal prosecutors charge.

Justin Poon, 24, who was arrested on Dec. 21, has been charged with inducing two 16-year-old girls — one of whom he carried on a two-year relationship with — to create sexually explicit material for his gratification and financial gain, prosecutors say.

Poon blackmailed one of the teens by threatening to send her images to family and friends if she didn't send him multiple Cash App payments. 

“Send this or I post what I have,” Poon said, according to one Cash App return quoted by prosecutors.

Prosecutors said the young woman is not Poon’s only victim.

“It was part and parcel of the defendant’s prolific sextortion scheme, which our initial analysis suggests targeted at least four dozen victims — including minors, other young females, and males,” according to a federal detention memo seeking to keep him behind bars before his trial.

Federal investigators say they have multiple messages from two iPhones that belong to Poon showing he carried on the scheme despite the fact he is still on probation for a 2021 conviction. Poon was sentenced to 5 years probation for having sex with a 15-year-old girl on Dec. 22, 2019. 

After his arrest, Poon argued he should be released from custody, pending his trial.

Messages obtained from phones he was barred from having under the terms of his previous conviction show his callousness toward his victims, prosecutors say.

When one of the 16-year-old victims begged him to not “ruin [her] life” because she “need[s] to go to university,” his response was “I don’t care,” according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Kamil Ammari.

He sold images he asked one of his victims to create and they have since been posted online.

“Those images have now leaked and, in the past two weeks alone, the victim has contacted law enforcement four times to share six links at which her images were shared,” Ammari wrote in his detention brief. “This 16-year-old victim's life has now been forever altered by the defendant’s conduct, all through discussions that happened over just a few days.”

After one of the victims went to the FBI regarding his alleged extortion, Poon tried to talk her into telling investigators it was a hoax.

“u tell the fbi never mind,” he messaged her, prompting her to delete some of the evidence in the case, according to investigators.

Poon’s lawyer, Kayla Wells, declined to comment. He’s due back in court on Feb. 1.