Dating App Used as "Hunting Ground" for Burglaries
Two burglars who exploited the Grindr dating app to gain access to the homes of their victims have been sentenced to prison. Rahmat Khan Mohammadi, 23, and Mohammed Bilal Hotak, 27, both Afghan refugees, used the platform to arrange meetings before stealing phones and making fraudulent payments.
The Deceptive Tactics of the Grindr Scammers
The pair's method was calculated. They would typically use a Grindr profile with no photo, sending an image of someone else if requested. Mohammadi, who was the more prolific offender, would sometimes ask to bring a "friend" – Hotak – to the meet-up. Once inside a victim's property, they would ask to play music on YouTube, a tactic that prevented the phone from locking while a video was active.
To steal the devices, they employed distraction techniques. These included asking to take a shower before sex, requesting a drink, or being shown where the toilet was. With the victim momentarily out of the room, they would take the phone and leave. They then used the devices to make online or contactless payments, and in some cases transferred funds directly to themselves.
Mohammadi targeted 11 victims in a five-month crime spree between 24 October 2024 and 24 March 2025. Hotak committed multiple offences between 24 October and 23 December 2024.
Sentencing and the Question of a Hate Crime
At Isleworth Crown Court on Monday, Judge Adenike Balogun jailed Mohammadi for five years and Hotak for three and a half years. Sentencing them, she acknowledged the profound impact on the victims, stating she had taken note of the "psychological trauma as well as the inconvenience caused".
The prosecution had argued the men were targeted because of their sexuality, suggesting the offences could be viewed as hate crimes. Judge Balogun considered this carefully but concluded that while the victims' presumed sexual orientation presented an opportunity, it was not driven by hostility.
"The presumed sexual orientation of the victims presented an opportunity for you to commit the crime, and in that respect I do find that the victims... were targeted because of their perceived vulnerability," she said. The judge added that the men banked on the fact that users of the app might be reluctant to report the crimes to police.
Devastating Impact on the Victims
The human cost of the spree was severe in court statements. One victim described the theft as "invasive and degrading", saying he remains afraid to date people he meets online. He recounted being led into a dark, wet park late at night and encouraged to undress before his phone was stolen.
Another spoke of the severe psychological trauma and the devastating loss of irreplaceable photos of deceased family members stored on his device. He labelled Grindr as the suspects' "hunting ground".
Defending Hotak, John Kearney told the court the app was chosen because "there is no comeback", enabling anonymous strangers to be invited into homes. Superintendent Owen Renowden, the Metropolitan Police's hate crime lead, condemned the "callous, calculated, pre-planned" crimes, stating the actions had a devastating impact and that nobody should feel unsafe in their own home.
Mohammadi, of Weald Lane in Harrow, was found guilty of 10 counts of burglary, nine of fraud and one of theft. Hotak, of Richmond Road in Hackney, was convicted of five counts of burglary, five of fraud and one theft. Both men were acquitted of several additional charges.
