Robert Snell

The Detroit News

Detroit — A dominatrix who dished out abuse to men on social media was the one in pain Tuesday after federal prosecutors charged her with extorting cash from a local man.

A 21-page criminal complaint against flame-haired Erica Freeman, 25, of Atlanta details an unusual extortion case that could send the woman to federal prison for two years.

Freeman used social media accounts, including Twitter and Facebook, to extort money from the married Wayne County man, who sent her incriminating photos, according to an investigator with the FBI’s Violent Crime Task Force. Freeman, known online as “Temptress Nirvana,” threatened to expose his infidelity unless he paid cash.

Freeman’s social media posts offer an illustrated gallery of pain and ridicule, including a GIF of Freeman kicking one man in the groin, slapping another in the face with a stack of cash and sitting on another whose face is stuck in a toilet.

Freeman has been arrested and is expected to be arraigned in Detroit in coming days. She could not be reached for comment and there was no attorney listed in her court file.

The FBI case dates to September, when the local man met Freeman after he followed her Twitter account, @nirvanafetish, and liked several posts.

The man sent Freeman several sexually explicit photos and about $5,000 via her PayPal and other accounts over the next four months.

Around Jan. 1, the man briefly stopped communicating with Freeman, who threatened to expose their online relationship unless he paid $10,000, according to investigators.

It is unclear whether Freeman and the man ever met in person.

The man offered the whip-wielding Freeman an olive branch. He sent her a smaller amount, typically $250, every Monday.

Investigators traced the PayPal account to a computer located in a home in Fairburn, Georgia, near Atlanta.

In March, as the man continued sending her money to keep the relationship secret, Freeman mailed him a pair of her red underwear, according to the FBI.

In return, he put the underwear on his head, snapped a photo and sent it to Freeman.

In April, the man tried to end the relationship. Freeman demanded $15,000 and threatened to tell his wife if he failed to pay, prosecutor allege.

Then, the man received several threatening messages.

“I’ll tell everyone you’ve ever met in your entire life. ... I’ll tell the entire state of Michigan,” one message read. “It’s on.

“You can’t (expletive) ignore me you stupid junkie,” read another message. “I swear on my dogs (sic) lives I will contact (your wife) if you keep this up...”

The messages were sent from an email account that investigators traced to a home in Fairburn.

On April 15, the man received another threatening message that included a screen grab of his employer’s website.

“Keep ignoring me and I send everything,” the message read.

Investigators obtained a warrant to search the email account that sent the messages.

Agents traced the email account to Freeman, according to the criminal complaint.

The extortion included a multimedia campaign against the man, the government alleged.

Multiple Twitter accounts were used to post threats and photos, including one picture of the man wearing the red underwear on his head, investigators said.

“You’ll lose your (expletive) job over this just because you won’t speak and have a conversation like a man,” Freeman wrote in one tweet, according to the complaint.

Other tweets included photos of his employer’s website and his wife’s Facebook account.

In mid-April, Freeman called the man’s wife and left a message calling him a pervert, investigators said.

Freeman also used two Facebook accounts to send friend requests to his friends and family, according to the criminal complaint.

One of the Facebook accounts featured a photo of the man wearing red underwear on his head.

Following the threats, calls and social media posts, the man paid Freeman $350.

“In all, (the man) paid Freeman approximately $10,000,” an FBI special agent wrote in the complaint. “The first $5,000 he did of his own free will. (The man) paid the remaining $5,000 ... only because Freeman began threatening to expose their relationship.”