'Sextortion' scam linked to California teen's suicide leads to 4 arrests in West Africa

Three years aft a California teen killed himself arsenic a effect of being “sextorted” online, authorities person arrested 4 men successful Ivory Coast for their roles successful an planetary strategy that targeted thousands of victims astir the globe, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Ivorian instrumentality enforcement arrested Alfred Kassi, Oumarou Ouedraogo, Moussa Diaby and Oumar Cisse connected transgression charges relating to the sextortion scheme, which progressive radical being threatened and coerced into sending explicit images online, the Justice Department announced past week.

The strategy targeted people, including minors, passim the U.S., Canada, United Kingdom, France, Spain and Italy. Among the victims was Ryan Last, a 17-year-old precocious schoolhouse elder from San Jose.

Last, who planned to be Washington State University, killed himself successful February 2022, hours aft being sextorted online by idiosyncratic pretending to beryllium a 20-year-old woman, authorities said. The teen had paid $150 to forestall intimate images helium had sent from being disseminated.

Evidence, which authorities did not disclose, yet led instrumentality enforcement to Kassi, an Ivorian national surviving successful Ivory Coast. At the clip of Kassi’s apprehension connected April 29, helium allegedly inactive had the messages helium sent to Last connected his telephone demanding outgo successful speech for not disseminating Last’s photos, according to the Justice Department.

“We’re feeling grateful that [law enforcement officials] didn’t springiness up and they continued to work,” Pauline Stuart, Last’s mom, said astir the caller arrests. “Unfortunately it volition ne'er bring Ryan back. It’s 1 of those double-edged swords. My son’s inactive gone, but I’m hoping that, with this arrest, it brings consciousness and scares the scammers, due to the fact that they benignant of consciousness harmless implicit successful a overseas country. They don’t deliberation they tin beryllium touched.”

“My son’s inactive gone, but I’m hoping that, with this arrest, it brings consciousness and scares the scammers,” said Pauline Stuart, shown with her lad Ryan.

(Courtesy of Pauline Stuart)

The investigation, involving U.S. and Ivorian instrumentality enforcement, besides identified respective alleged wealth laundering accomplices, including Ouedraogo, who authorities said helped Kassi determination the wealth helium received from the teenager. Ivorian instrumentality enforcement arrested Ouedraogo connected April 25, according to the Justice Department.

Diaby and Cisse were allegedly portion of Kassi’s alleged sextortion web and admitted to their ain sextortion crimes, according to the Justice Department. A U.S.-based accomplice, Jonathan Kassi, who is not related to Alfred Kassi, was convicted successful a California authorities tribunal successful 2023 and sentenced to 18 months successful jail.

The authorities of Ivory Coast doesn’t extradite its ain citizens, truthful those arrested volition beryllium prosecuted successful their ain state nether Ivorian cybercrime statutes, according to the Justice Department.

In a 2022 video posted connected the San Jose Police Department’s Facebook page, Stuart described her lad arsenic a straight-A student, who was readying to large successful cultivation biotechnology. She said Last was “a precise trusting person” who was catfished by a idiosyncratic who flirted and showed involvement successful him.

“This is 1 of the immense problems with societal media,” Stuart said. “People tin unreal to beryllium anyone.”

According to CNN, the scammer sent Last a nude photograph and past asked for 1 successful return. The scammer past demanded $5,000, threatening to publicize the photograph and nonstop it to Last’s household and friends. The full was aboriginal dropped to $150, aft Last said helium couldn’t wage the afloat amount.

Stuart said that erstwhile her lad sent the money, the scammers “continued to hound him.”

In a termination note, Stuart told The Times, Last apologized for not being astute enough.

“He didn’t recognize these radical were taking vantage of him, and helium was terrified of what it would bash to us,” Stuart said.

Stuart said the scam unfolded contempt the information that they had parental controls connected their son’s telephone and apps. She urged parents to talk with their children truthful they felt comfy coming to them astir immoderate mistake.

“We conscionable request to marque definite that our kids cognize you’re going to beryllium there, they’re your everything,” Stuart said. “No mistake that we marque is worthy taking our lives.”

The FBI’s Sacramento bureau warned parents past twelvemonth astir the increasing menace of sextortion.

From October 2021 to March 2023, the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations received much than 13,000 reports of online fiscal sextortion of minors, according to the FBI. The sextortion progressive astatine slightest 12,600 victims — chiefly boys — and resulted successful astatine slightest 20 suicides.

The FBI separately said it saw an astatine slightest 20% summation successful reporting of financially motivated sextortion incidents involving minors from October 2022 to March 2023, compared to the aforesaid play the twelvemonth before, according to the agency.

“Our office, which covers 34 counties successful California, has seen a important summation successful reported sextortion incidents and the bulk of these impact fiscal sextortion,” Special Agent successful Charge Sean Ragan of the FBI Sacramento Field Office said successful a 2024 quality release.

“We impulse victims to sphere each grounds and question assistance quickly,” Ragan said. “Don’t delete immoderate communication, adjacent if it is embarrassing. We support and enactment victims of sextortion, ensuring they are connected to the resources they request to recover.”