Advertisement

‘I'm telling your wife' - Woman blackmailed man she met online after draining his life savings

Emma Greensall told 'blatant lies' while blackmailing a married man she met online, but has been spared jail for the sake of her children (Reach)
Emma Greensall told 'blatant lies' while blackmailing a married man she met online, but has been spared jail for the sake of her children (Reach)

A mum of four who met a married man on a dating website and blackmailed him under threat of telling his wife about their relationship has escaped jail.

Emma Greensall was given a two-year suspended sentence for extorting more than £14,000 from her victim, with a judge saying she was only spared an immediate custodial sentence so she could look after her children.

Greensall threatened to reveal the ‘relationship’ to her victim's wife after draining his life savings.

She first met her victim in August 2019 and they began to chat by text messages, WhatsApp and emails telling each other about interests and themselves. Although there was discussion about pursuing a sexual relationship the conversation itself was not sexual, the court heard.

Raj Punia, prosecuting at Birmingham Crown Court, said the offence took place between July and October 2020.

Punia said that the man's wife has mental health issues and the couple had not had an intimate relationship for many years.

Greensall then told her victim she was in an abusive relationship and informed him about her “hard” life. The man said he wanted to help her and began to transfer sums ranging from £100 to £300, for food and school clothes.

Greensall extorted more than £14,000 from her victim after threatening to expose their 'relationship' to his wife (Reach)
Greensall extorted more than £14,000 from her victim after threatening to expose their 'relationship' to his wife (Reach)

However, when he told her that he was in financial hardship himself and asked when she was going to start making repayments, Greensall posed as her own stepfather asking for more money.

The victim received a message saying: "I am going to come to your house and tell your wife everything. I want money sent over. Then we can stop all this.’

After sending sums of £50 he was told it was not enough and she wanted £1,000. Greensall also sent a photo of his house and said she would be coming round.

The prosecutor said: “By October 2020 he had reached breaking point. He could not pay anymore.

“He was ashamed about the position he had found himself in. He told his wife everything.”

The couple then contacted police. In a statement the victim said he had been “devastated financially” by what happened.

Passing sentence, Judge Simon Drew KC told Greensall: “Blackmail is one of the most unpleasant offences to come before the courts.

Cleaners at Birmingham Crown Court which has been closed this afternoon and given a deep clean after a staff member reported Covid-19 symptoms overnight. (Photo by Jacob King/PA Images via Getty Images)
Greensall was given a two year suspended sentence for blackmail at Birmingham Crown Court (Getty)

"You met the victim in this case on a website.. quite what it was you were looking for is not entirely clear. I have deep suspicions that the only thing you were looking for was someone to target."

As he recounted Greensall's behaviour, the judge said: "You promised to repay him but at the time you were in debt and you were never going to. An innocent man was lured into making large amounts of financial payments to help you out.”

The judge said they had met up on one occasion and went on: “Following that you made up a promise to meet up again which you never kept, again luring him into this relationship.

“Eventually he ran out of money. He had given you his life savings.

“Broken, he confessed what he had done to his wife. Just imagine what that conversation must have been like. Their relationship is permanently damaged and she can never trust him. The extraction of money from him was deliberate, planned and frankly cynical.”

Greensall, 33, from Shard End, who had previously admitted blackmail, was sentenced to two years suspended for two years. The judge said the only reason he was not sending her immediately to jail was for the sake of her four young children, one of whom suffers autism.