Prosecutors: St. Paul man targeted 500+ girls in sextortion scheme

A St. Paul man is accused of targeting more than 500 underage girls across the United States in a sextortion scheme that lasted years, the U.S. Attorney for Minnesota says.

The suspect, 31-year-old Yue Vang, is currently charged with two counts of production of child porn, one count of possession of child porn, and one count of interstate communications with intent to extort.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Minnesota says that Vang, over the course of about five years, created multiple accounts on different apps including Kik, Snapchat, and Skype, posing as a woman. While posing as a woman, authorities say Vang would prey on "vulnerable minor girls" to convince them to send him sexually explicit photos.

Investigators say once Vang received the photos he would then in turn use the photos as blackmail, threatening to send the explicit photos to the victim's family and friends unless the victim sent him more photos of the victim nude or engaged in sexual conduct.

In one case in June 2016, prosecutors say "Vang contacted a 15-year-old girl and threatened to distribute sexually explicit pictures of her to her classmates and parents to ‘ruin her life’ unless she complied with Vang’s demands to send additional sexually explicit images and videos."

So far, investigators have identified more than 500 victims, but prosecutors say they are still working to identify many more. Anyone who thinks they might be a victim is asked to click here. That site includes a list of names Vang allegedly used on social media.