Woman accused of trying to extort man she spotted at bar of $500

Suspect threatened to tell victim's wife he was cheating on her, police say

DAVIE, Fla. – A 22-year-old woman attempted to extort a man she spotted at a South Florida bar of $500, authorities said.

According to an arrest report, the victim and several friends went to Big Dawgs Sports Bar at 10000 NW Sixth Court in Pembroke Pines on Tuesday.

Davie police said the victim had several drinks at the bar and then momentarily left his phone behind on a table.

After returning home with his phone, he received several text messages from a number he wasn't familiar with, demanding that he send $300 via a phone cash app to an account with the name of Briyana Valls, the report stated.

Police said another text threatened that if the money wasn't sent, Valls would tell the victim's wife that he cheated on her.

The victim went to the Davie Police Department the next day to file a police report and provided detectives with the text messages he received.

"This gentleman didn't have any idea who this girl was," Sgt. Mark Leone said.

Police said a controlled call was then placed between the victim and Valls, at which time Valls demanded $500 instead of the initial $300 request.

Valls told the victim to withdraw the money from his bank account and send her a photo with him holding the cash, authorities said.

Police said she then texted him a Davie address on South Roundtable Road where they would meet up for him to hand over the cash.

Authorities said Valls claimed she had a photo of her and the victim together at the bar and threatened to send the picture to the victim's wife.

According to the arrest report, the victim responded to the Davie location on Wednesday and handed Valls an envelope that contained $500.

Detectives witnessed the exchange and arrested Valls at the scene, authorities said.

According to the arrest report, Valls admitted that she didn't have a photo of them at the bar and claimed she only tried to extort him to help pay for medical expenses for her ailing brother.

Valls faces charges of grand theft and extortion, the second of which is a second-degree felony. 


About the Author:

Amanda Batchelor is the Digital Executive Producer for Local10.com.