Las Vegas man gets 3 years after pleading guilty to extortion, other charges

A Las Vegas man was sentenced Thursday to three years in prison after he pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including extortion, money laundering and stalking related to a case that involved cryptocurrency, federal prosecutors announced.

Idriss Qibaa, 28, was ordered by U.S. District Judge Richard Boulware to serve three years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, a fine of $75,000 and $200,000 in restitution payments, according to a Department of Justice news release.

According to court documents, in April of 2024, Qibaa threatened force and extorted $200,000 from a victim. As part of the extortion scheme, on March 7 and 8 of 2024, he obtained $63,500 worth of cryptocurrency.

In June and July of 2024, Qibaa admitted to engaging in online direct messages, texts, and postings, to cause substantial emotional distress to multiple victims, according to records, and their families in California.

Qibaa later sent text messages containing threats to injure and kill a victim and members of the victim’s family, according to the department’s release.

In February, Qibaa pleaded guilty to one count of extortion, two counts of money laundering, one count of stalking, and two counts of interstate communications containing a threat to injure, according to the department.

Contact Bryan Horwath at bhorwath@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BryanHorwath on X.