A transgender man in the U.K. has been found guilty of blackmailing a closeted gay man out of more than £25,000 (roughly $35,000).

Over the course of five months, Shayne Robson, 22, extorted thousands from his 25-year-old victim, referred to in court as Mr. K. The two met on a U.K. dating site in 2015 and K, who believed Robson was a cisgender gay man, began to develop romantic feelings though the two never actually met in person.

According to Metro, Robson continuously claimed he was having money problems and needed help to stay afloat. K repeatedly withdrew money from his savings—and even took out a loan—under the impression he'd get paid back later with interest.

Robson was in a relationship with a woman at the time, but he and K seemed to grow closer, and exchanged photos over the Internet. But K soon began to worry he'd never see his money again.

"This caused him to cut off all contact with the defendant, to block him on Facebook and other sites where they had been conversing," K's lawyer told judges at a court hearing. "And it was at this point [Robson] committed blackmail."

Robson threatened to share "intimate photos" of K with his family, friends, and "anyone on his social network," effectively outing him, if he didn't continue to provide money. K ended up outing himself to his family to ask for help. "[Robson] was clearly using me for money," he told the court.

On Friday Judge Stephen Earl sentenced Robson to a suspended sentence of 12 months in prison, plus ordered him to enter a rehabilitation program and pay a £500 ($700) fine.

"[Blackmail] is one of the most vicious crimes in the calendar of criminal offenses," Earl told him. "You caused someone enormous harm, emotionally. [K] was in a raw emotional state of never knowing if tomorrow is the day [he'd be outed], or the day after."

Robson's lawyer claimed he struggled with "personal issues" in the past but was now seeking help.