A Sweetwater, Tn., man has been sentenced to serve 30 months in federal prison for a scheme that included him posing as former UT football player Cameron Sutton and coercing women to send him sexually provocative photos of themselves.
Brandon Douglas Shanahan, 23, was sentenced by Judge Pamela L. Reeves, U.S. District Court Judge, for extortion using the computer application SnapChat.
Shanahan pleaded guilty in November 2016 to one count of a federal indictment charging him with using interstate communications with the intent to extort contained in a federal indictment. Shanahan used Snapchat to extort women into sending nude photographs of themselves to him.
Authorities said after entering his guilty plea, it was discovered that Shanahan engaged in new conduct which could have been charged in a subsequent indictment. However, the U.S.
Attorney’s Office agreed to allow Shanahan to plead guilty to an additional count in the indictment prior to his sentencing.
Prosecutors said a woman began corresponding with Shanahan who was using the computer ID of camsutton2323. It was noted that 23 was Cam Sutton's UT jersey number.
That woman and a second woman said they believed they were in touch with the UT football player.
On April 29, 2016, one woman took photos of herself in a bar setting and posted them to her SnapChat story. The next day Shanahan, using the camsutton 2323 handle, told her she had taken nude photos of herself and transmitted them to him. Prosecutors said the woman did not believe she had taken nude photos of herself, but could not be sure.
Shanahan told the woman that if she did not send more nude photos to him that he would make the initial alleged photos public. The woman said she at first resisted, but finally sent him seven photos of herself wearing a bikini or underwear.
A second woman got in touch with Shanahan, believing he was Cam Sutton, and threatened to expose embarrassing medical records about her if she did not send nude pictures. The woman complied and sent photos of her bare breasts.
Agencies involved in the investigation include the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Knoxville Cyber Task Force, which includes the University of Tennessee Police Department, Tennessee Highway Patrol, Knoxville Police Department and Knox County Sheriff Office, assisted by the Sweetwater Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Cynthia F. Davidson represented the United States.