Woman pretended she had been kidnapped and raped to scam money off man she met on Snapchat

Elisa Timbers created videos of herself that claimed to show she was being held hostage. But her alleged ordeal turned out to be a pack of lies created to get cash

A woman faked being kidnapped and raped in an attempt to extort money from a man she met online.

Elisa Timbers sent messages on Snapchat demanding £200 after claiming she had been held captive and sexually assaulted, a court heard. The 21-year-old even created videos purporting to show herself being held hostage. But when police tracked her down they found she was safe and well.

She initially tried to convince them that her Snapchat account had been hacked. Eventually, she admitted sending the messages claiming she had been forced into it, the court heard she was "young and highly vulnerable". Timbers, of Norwich, pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation between June 26 and 29 last year at Norwich Magistrates' Court on October 1.

Asif Akram, prosecuting, said Timbers began exchanging messages over Snapchat after meeting someone online. But days later the victim contacted police after receiving threatening messages detailing lurid and disturbing claims. Timbers said that she was the victim of an abuser called ‘Chris’ and demanded that he send her cash. Mr Akram said: “She had control of the Snapchat accounts at the time."

Emma Lloyd, mitigating, said while her actions were “unflattering to say the least”, Timbers was “in fear” of another man she had met online who was the driving force behind her attempted extortion, reports MyLondon.

Ms Lloyd added: “She had begun talking to a man called ‘Chris’ but this became more and more unpleasant. He was telling her what to say and how to say it. There was no cash sent but if it had been she would never have seen any of it.”

Magistrates ordered reports prior to her sentencing on November 23. They told Timbers prison was an option.