In March of 2017, a couple in their 20’s moved into a two-bedroom apartment in the 3500 block of Pennsylvania Ave in Fremont. The living arrangement was one that was shared and several other people also lived in the apartment, including Maninder Adama (33 years old/Fremont). The victim couple lived in the apartment from mid-March to the end of April and then moved out of the area.
In mid-June the victim couple began receiving messages from an unknown email address. The sender claimed to be in possession of a video which depicted the victim couple engaging in sexual acts together. The suspect emailed the victims multiple times and included screen shots of video as proof. Based upon the positioning of the video and the setup of the room, the victims believed they must have been recorded while living in the shared apartment on Pennsylvania Ave.
In early July, the suspect began to threaten and extort the victims saying he would put the video on Facebook and ‘tag’ both victims if they did not pay him $2,000.00. The suspect later raised the price to $5,000.00 and threated that if he was not paid the amount, via a Google Wallet transaction, he would post the video on multiple websites and also send it to family members. It was then that the victims decided to report the incident to our department.
Detectives from the Crimes Against Persons Unit began investigating the incident. To determine where the email was coming from, they conducted analysis of the metadata embedded in the photos sent by the suspect. Through this analysis they determined the photos were coming from the address on Pennsylvania Ave and suspect Maninder Adama.
On July 27, 2017, detectives served a search warrant on an apartment within the 3600 block of Pennsylvania Ave. Suspect Adama was located and arrested. Several laptops and electronic devices outfitted with the ability to record audio and/or video were seized.
Detectives from the Regional Computer Forensic Laboratory assisted with the search of the laptops. Inside one of the laptops detectives located a video of the victims. Inside Adama’s cell phone, detectives located the email account being used by the suspect in the extortion.
Adama was booked at the Fremont Jail on multiple counts of felony extortion and multiple misdemeanor counts related to invasion of privacy for the recording of the victims. Adama is scheduled for arraignment today, July 31, 2017 at 2:00 p.m. at the Fremont Superior Courthouse.
Detectives are continuing to investigate this case to determine if there are additional victims. Anyone with information regarding Adama is encouraged to contact Detective Gebhardt in the Crimes Against Persons Unit at 510-790-6954.
Detectives would like to remind potential renters that it’s important to be careful when renting a room from someone you don’t know. While the vast majority of people are honest, always be aware of your surroundings and personal safety.
