Man faked his own kidnapping to defraud victims

Christopher Sellman, 23, created an elaborate series of lies to get around £ 10,000 from two people he knew and sent disturbing videos to.

He sent photos of a razor blade to his throat, a crossbow to his temple and videos of him being forced underwater.

Sellman was aided by his ex-partner, Stephanie Gibb, 28, in the elaborate blackmail plot as reported by MetroUK.

Victims first received social media messages from an unrecognized phone number, containing a photo of Sellman with a razor blade held against his throat, in February this year.

The message appeared to come from someone who said they kidnapped Sellman and that he would only be released if the victims put money into a bank account, which was controlled by the alleged kidnapper.

The victims did as they were asked to do, but the next day the “kidnappers asked for more money.” They then received a photo of Sellman with a gun in his mouth and then paid £ 1,000 in response.

When other threatening messages arrived and the victims said they had no more money, they were threatened with violence and told that the “kidnappers” knew where they (the victims) lived.

Upon contacting Kent Police, the victims changed their phone numbers. However, they started to receive messages via email and on social media platforms.

Detectives identified similar typos and grammatical errors between the messages Sellman sent and those of the kidnappers.

Officers attended Sellman’s address in Ashford where he was arrested on suspicion of blackmail on March 24.

Weapons matching those seen in the photos, as well as cell phones containing the threat messages, were recovered from the property.

It was discovered that Sellman and Gibb had used the victims’ money to pay for sportswear and take out food.

Sellman pleaded guilty and was sentenced to two years and four months in prison in Canterbury Crown Court.

Gibb, 28, of Ashford, was given an 18-month jail sentence, suspended for 18 months after admitting his involvement in the blackmail plot.

PC investigator Edward Pegg said: “Sellman has displayed a horrific breach of trust in those who care about him, faking his own kidnapping and torturing for money to spend on sportswear and take away. “