Jilted lover's $250,000 blackmail revenge

A jilted lover blackmailed a married man into paying her nearly a quarter of a million dollars after threatening to disclose their affair to his wife.

Sharleen Lynch's extortion was only revealed when the Hamilton woman confessed her offending to police in February this year. In total, the man  who has name suppression  paid Lynch $246,375.

She is now paying that back at $20 a week.

For nearly five years the victim refinanced his mortgage, took out personal loans and drew on credit cards to pay varying amounts demanded, ranging from $75 to $7500.

Lynch, a 30-year-old baker, was yesterday sentenced at the High Court in Hamilton to 12 months' home detention after pleading guilty to one charge of blackmail.

The maximum sentence is 14 years' jail.

Lynch met her victim via the internet in June 2005.

She met him in person later that month and they began a sexual relationship.

From an early stage, the man agreed to lend Lynch money  totalling about $14,000  on the understanding she would pay him back.

Lynch then contacted the man to say she was pregnant and needed money for an abortion.

This was later revealed to be a lie. After discovering the man was married, Lynch threatened to expose their affair unless he met her demands.

The court was told Lynch gave a variety reasons for wanting the money, from her mother needing heart surgery to Lynch being diagnosed with cancer.

In truth, Lynch used the funds to feed a gambling habit.

She later told police she felt betrayed by her victim when she discovered he was married.

Justice Hansen said Lynch's prolonged and repetitive offending had taken an emotional toll on her victim, and the judge noted her previous dishonesty convictions.

The judge also commented on the unusual role Lynch's victim played in her offending. The man's willingness to met Lynch's outrageous demands was "bordering on bizarre", the judge said.

Justice Hansen declined to impose a formal order for reparation, noting Lynch was making voluntary reparation payments of $20 a week.

Defence counsel Roger Laybourn said Lynch wanted to confess her offending at an earlier stage but was persuaded not to by her victim.

Mr Laybourn said Lynch had experienced mental health problems and "was not thinking clearly" at the time of her offending. The only way she believed she could bring her behaviour to an end was to confess to police.

- © Fairfax NZ News