Ivory Coast men tied to sextortion scheme that led to suicide of San Jose teen, DOJ says
SAN JOSE, Calif. - Four men in the Ivory Coast have been linked to an international sextortion scheme that targeted thousands of victims, including minors — one of whom was a San Jose teenager who died by suicide after being scammed online, federal prosecutors said.
What we know
Ryan Last, 17, was a high school senior when he died in February 2022.
His mother, Pauline Stuart, later shared his story on the Dr. Phil show, explaining how her son was manipulated.
"They pretended to be a girl," she said. "They sent a picture first to him and said, 'Now that you have one of us – send us one in return. Within minutes of them getting the picture, they demanded $5,000 from him."
According to the Department of Justice, the scammers posed as a 20-year-old woman. Though Ryan didn't have $5,000, he sent $150 — but was then pressured for more under the threat of having his photo shared online.
He died by suicide eight hours after sending the compromising image.
One man tied to the scheme, Jonathan Kassi of Southern California, was arrested and convicted in 2023. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison.
Dig deeper
Prosecutors said Kassi did not act alone. He had four accomplices in Côte d'Ivoire who helped orchestrate the scam, which targeted victims in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Spain and Italy.
A joint investigation between U.S. and Ivorian authorities led to the identification of Alfred Kassi — not related to Jonathan Kassi — as another key culprit in the scheme. He was arrested by Ivorian law enforcement on April 29 and, at the time of his arrest, allegedly still had messages linked to Ryan Last's sextortion.
Three other alleged accomplices — Oumarou Ouedraogo, Moussa Diaby and Oumar Cisse — were arrested on April 25.
Authorities said they helped launder funds obtained from victims.
Because Côte d'Ivoire does not extradite its own citizens, all four suspects will be prosecuted under Ivorian cybercrime laws.
The Source
Department of Justice
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNN
26 minutes ago
- CNN
Los Angeles mayor slams vandalism during protests
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass criticized people who are vandalizing the city amid widespread protests. CNN correspondent Stephanie Elam gets a closer look at some of the looting and vandalism in downtown LA.
Fox News
35 minutes ago
- Fox News
Taylor Swift fears 'imminent harm' from ex-convict who allegedly visited her home carrying potential weapon
Taylor Swift has been granted a restraining order against an ex-convict who has allegedly not left her alone. On Friday, Swift filed for a temporary restraining order against Brian Jason Wagner after he allegedly came to her Los Angeles home several times over the past year. "Mr. Wagner made various statements about living at my property (not true), being in a relationship with me (not true), believing I am the mother of his son (not true), and needing to see me in person, all of which are untrue and disconnected from reality," Swift wrote in the legal declaration which was obtained by Fox News Digital. In the legal document, Swift claimed that Wagner began showing up at her Los Angeles residence in 2024 and made several visits in July of that year. "On at least one of the occasions in July 2024, Mr. Wagner was carrying a glass bottle that could have been used as a weapon," she wrote. According to Swift, Wagner returned to her home last month and "was there checking on a friend (again, this is entirely untrue)." Swift's security detail ran a background check on Wagner and discovered that he first began attempting to contact the pop star while he was incarcerated. He would write Swift letters "at length about his infatuation with me, a romantic relationship with me (which does not exist), and other completely fabricated stories about his involvement in my personal life," according to the document. The documents also state that Wagner had updated his home address on his driver's license to her Los Angeles residence. According to the document, Wagner sent her team "hundreds" of threatening emails and tried to have her personal mail sent to his home. "I have no relationship with Mr. Wagner and I have never met nor communicated with him," Swift wrote. She explained that his recent visit in May prompted her to act on a restraining order. "The fact that both of these recent visits and Mr. Wagner's inappropriate and threatening communications to my staff about me have escalated in recent weeks creates a fear of imminent harm," she wrote. A judge in Los Angeles granted Swift the temporary restraining order.
CNN
an hour ago
- CNN
Los Angeles mayor slams vandalism during protests
Los Angeles mayor slams vandalism during protests Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass criticized people who are vandalizing the city amid widespread protests. CNN correspondent Stephanie Elam gets a closer look at some of the looting and vandalism in downtown LA. 01:08 - Source: CNN Vertical Top News 14 videos Los Angeles mayor slams vandalism during protests Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass criticized people who are vandalizing the city amid widespread protests. CNN correspondent Stephanie Elam gets a closer look at some of the looting and vandalism in downtown LA. 01:08 - Source: CNN Tanks arrive in DC ahead of US Army parade As the 250th anniversary celebration for the US Army approaches, a freight train of tanks was seen making its way into the nation's capital. The long-planned celebration in Washington will coincide with Trump's 79th birthday and include thousands of troops. The Army had said it has no plans to recognize the president's birthday. 00:40 - Source: CNN Colombian presidential hopeful Miguel Uribe shot in Bogota A Colombian senator and presidential hopeful is in a critical condition after being shot twice at an event in Bogota, according to national police and prosecutors. Police arrested a 15-year-old carrying a Glock pistol, according to the Attorney General's Office. Miguel Uribe expressed intentions to run in the 2026 presidential election for the country's largest opposition party, the center-right Centro Democrático, or Democratic Center. 01:05 - Source: CNN Immigration protests break out in Los Angeles President Donald Trump signed a presidential memorandum deploying 2,000 National Guardsmen to disperse the protests that began in the Los Angeles area in response to immigration raids. Law enforcement authorities and demonstrators have clashed for two days. CNN's Julia Vargas Jones reports. 01:34 - Source: CNN Coco Gauff reacts to winning the French Open Coco Gauff claimed her second career grand slam singles title, defeating world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the French Open women's final. 00:46 - Source: CNN Protesters confront authorities following ICE raids in Los Angeles Federal immigration operations in Los Angeles were met by protests. ICE declined to discuss the details of its operations. 00:43 - Source: CNN Attorney for mistakenly deported man talks to Erin Burnett CNN's Erin Burnett talks with Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, attorney for Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man mistakenly deported to El Salvador in March, who has been returned to the United States to face federal criminal charges. 02:37 - Source: CNN Trump Admin targets LGBTQ+ community during Pride Month CNN's Ben Hunte breaks down how the Trump Administration has targeted the LGBTQ+ community with its policies in just the first few days of Pride Month. 02:09 - Source: CNN Former 'Diddy' girlfriend reveals 'love contract' A former romantic partner for Sean 'Diddy' Combs using the pseudonym 'Jane' described feeling financially coerced and revealed Combs is still paying for her rent, even as she testified against him at trial. Prosecutors hope the testimony by 'Jane' will drive home charges that include sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and transportation to engage in prostitution. Combs has pleaded not guilty to all charges. 01:30 - Source: CNN Trump's border czar on 3 US children leaving the country with their deported mothers White House border czar Tom Homan defended the Trump administration's move to deport three US citizen children last week. Homan told CNN's Priscilla Alvarez the children's parents, who were in the US illegally, made a "parental decision" to leave the country together. Gracie Willis, an attorney with the National Immigration Project, denies that the mothers were given a choice whether their children could remain in the US. 01:07 - Source: CNN Trump on Musk: 'The poor guy's got a problem' In a phone call with CNN's Dana Bash, President Donald Trump said he is 'not even thinking about' billionaire Elon Musk and won't be speaking to him in the near future. The comments come a day after Trump and Musk traded barbs on social media as their relationship deteriorated in spectacular public fashion. 00:43 - Source: CNN No aliens here: Research disputes possible 'signs of life' on another planet In response to hints of "biosignatures" found on a world called K2-18b, new research suggests there's a lot of uncertainty surrounding the exoplanet. CNN's Ashley Strickland reports on the ongoing scientific discourse around the search for extraterrestrial life. 00:43 - Source: CNN Reporter: Trump made $1 billion in crypto in 9 months CNN's Erin Burnett talks with Forbes Magazine's Dan Alexander about President Donald Trump's stunning ownership of billions of dollars worth of crypto. 02:19 - Source: CNN Russia launches strikes across Ukraine Russia launched waves of drones and ballistic missiles at multiple targets across a broad swath of Ukraine overnight killing at least four people in the capital Kyiv and wounding around 40 across the country. 00:32 - Source: CNN
