By: 
Those left in her wake
Shelly Chartier’s prime target was a colourful star in the National Basketball Association who had his identity stolen, only to be branded a suspected child sex offender. Although it was revealed to be untrue, it caused plenty of grief, including the loss of millions in contract money and endorsements.
She made other Internet connections that didn’t result in charges but were intriguing — National Hockey League players, Playboy models and even Brody Jenner, the son of Caitlyn Jenner.
In a previous jailhouse interview with the Free Press, Chartier said a combination of boredom and curiosity led her to attempt to “troll” others online.
“What I did is simple. But it went too far,” she said.
It was anything but simple. A 30-page affidavit the Free Press obtained this week outlines in complex detail how various fake email accounts and phone numbers were used to confuse her targets.
The scheme to target the basketball player began in 2010 as Chartier used an online technique known as “catfishing.” She set up a Facebook profile in which she pretended to be the athlete while seeking out potential love interests with young women online. She also set up another fake account using the name of a popular online video-game enthusiast.
Once these connections had been made, Chartier would then contact the player through social media, taking on the identity of the young women she had befriended while posing as the player. The idea was to force the athlete to pay “hush money.”
One of the young women was, at the time, a 17-year-old California girl who was infatuated with athletes, including the basketball player, and pretended she was 21. Chartier convinced the girl to send nude photos of herself. She also facilitated a meeting where the player paid for the girl’s flights and they had consensual sex.
Once that was over, Chartier began blackmailing the player — pretending to be the teen and later the teen’s angry mother. Chartier made numerous demands, and ultimately received a cheque for $3,000 the player thought would end any legal issues.
Chartier also began threatening the teen while using the bogus identify of the video-game player, even posting some of her nude pictures online and sending her a link. All of this eventually led to the girl and her mother going to police and a child exploitation investigation in which the basketball player and video-game player were viewed as suspects.
— Mike McIntyre
