MINEOLA — A Long Island couple videotaped and photographed sexual encounters they had with people they met over the Internet and then forced them to pay hush money to prevent the trysts from being disclosed to relatives, police said yesterday.

A preliminary investigation has uncovered two victims — a man from Long Island and a woman from upstate New York — but detectives said that based on the large number of videos and photographs they have confiscated, they are confident others have been victimized.

“We have reason to believe that there are multiple potential victims throughout New York state,” Detective Lieutenant Ray Cote said. He said there could be dozens of others who have yet to contact police.

Both defendants — Shawn Payne, 34, of East Hampton, and Michael Largue, 45, of Franklin Square — allegedly met potential victims on an Internet site; Mr. Largue would lure an unsuspecting female into a sexual relationship and Ms. Payne would do the same with unsuspecting men, police said.

The scheme unraveled on Sunday when a 43-year-old man told police that he had become involved in a relationship and was subsequently being blackmailed to keep quiet. Ms. Payne and Mr. Largue would secretly record the encounters involving their respective companions, police said.

“Unbeknownst to our victim, he was videotaped and photographed in compromising sexual positions,” Mr. Cote said.