Wasilla man sentenced to two years for extortion

ANCHORAGE – A 33-year old Wasilla man was sentenced in federal court to two years in prison on charges of extortion and making online threats.

Michael Thomas McTigue received the sentence, followed by one year of supervised release Wednesday before U.S. District Court Judge Sharon L. Gleason. According to documents filed in this case, McTigue trolled women he met online through meetme.com and Kik messenger applications. According to court documents, in several instances, the defendant formed online romantic relationships with women, and received sexually explicit photographs from them. Acting U.S. Attorney Bryan Schroeder stated on at least one occasion, the defendant took the photographs and threatened publication unless the victim worked for him as a prostitute and sent him some of the money earned.

Documents stated McTigue went as far as posting online prostitution advertisements for the victim. In response to this threat, court records state the victim complied, sending the defendant more than $1,000. During the investigation, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) located two other women who sent money to the defendant along with three other women McTigue posted online prostitution advertisements for.

The case was the product of an investigation by the FBI’s Safe Streets/Crimes Against Children/Human Trafficking Task Force. The task force marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children through sex trafficking, as well as identifying and recovering victims. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle Reardon prosecuted the case.