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USA Today
14-05-2025
- USA Today
'Sextortion' scheme linked to California teen's death leads to arrests in West Africa
'Sextortion' scheme linked to California teen's death leads to arrests in West Africa Show Caption Hide Caption Investigation: Sextortion victims pay high price to recover photos After falling prey to sextortionists, victims turn to companies promising to get rid of the content in exchange for high fees. SAN FRANCISCO – The U.S. Department of Justice recently announced the arrest of four men in West Africa for their roles in an international "sextortion" scheme that targeted thousands of victims, including minors, throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe. The arrest of Alfred Kassi and three alleged accomplices, all in Côte d'Ivoire, represents the latest major development in the efforts to counter online shakedowns that have resulted in the suicide deaths of at least 30 American boys since 2021. In sextortion cases, the perpetrators typically contact their victims through social media and gain their trust, then convince them to share sexually explicit pictures, followed by a threat to post the photos online and a demand for payment. Among the victims, prosecutors said, was a high school senior from San Jose, California. Ryan Last, 17, took his own life in February 2022, "hours after being sextorted online" by an individual he thought was a 20-year-old woman, according to prosecutors. He had already paid $150 by then. 'Significant step in the fight against child exploitation' In addition to Kassi, Ivorian law enforcement also arrested two other individuals, Moussa Diaby and Oumar Cisse. Prosecutors said Diaby and Cisse are part of Kassi's alleged sextortion network and admitted to their sextortion crimes "At the time of his arrest, Kassi allegedly still had the sextortion messages he sent to the 17-year-old victim in February 2022 on his phone," the Justice Department said in a news release that also noted the department conducted a lengthy investigation with the help of Ivorian law enforcement. Federal prosecutors added that Oumarou Ouedraogo, an alleged money launderer, was arrested by Ivorian law enforcement last month. The accused men will be prosecuted in Côte d'Ivoire because the country does not extradite its citizens, the Department of Justice said. A U.S.-based accomplice, Jonathan Kassi, was convicted in a California state court in 2023 and sentenced to 18 months in jail, according to the Justice Department. The FBI said last month that a new global operation focusing on battling financial sextortion from Nigeria — another hotbed of the crime — had led to 22 arrests. About half of those were linked to suicides, according to the FBI. "This operation marks a significant step in the fight against child exploitation and brings justice and accountability to international perpetrators hiding anonymously behind screens," said the agency, which also listed guilty pleas in several sextortion cases since February among recent successes. Sextortion-related tips to the FBI rose by 30% The FBI said it has detected "a huge increase" in sextortion attempts on minors, often males between the ages of 14 and 17, reached via Instagram. The number of sextortion-related reports made to the FBI's national tip line soared by 30% from October 2024 to March 2025 compared to the previous such stretch. The victim total also spiked, from 34,000 in 2023 to 54,000 last year, resulting in about $65 million in financial losses. In its yearly report on internet crime released April 23, the bureau said complaints of online extortion attempts, not necessarily sextortion, more than doubled in recent years, from 39,416 in 2022 to 86,415 in 2024. It was the fastest-growing of the agency's 26 cybercrime categories. And the consequences are devastating for families, well beyond any financial losses. "Financial sextortion represents a grave and growing threat to children, especially teenage boys," said Julie Cordua, CEO of the technology nonprofit Thorn. "For our society, it's a reminder of the urgent need for layered protections to keep our kids safe online." The FBI urges victims of sextortion and their loved ones to contact their local FBI field office, call 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324), or make a report online at the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). Additional resources can be found at Financially Motivated Sextortion – FBI.
New York Post
13-05-2025
- New York Post
Four West African men charged in sick sextortion scam linked to California teen's suicide
Four men from West Africa have been arrested in a sick 'sextortion' scam that caused a California teen to take his own life, the Department of Justice announced. High school senior Ryan Last, 17, killed himself in February 2022 just hours after he sent nude photos online to a scammer he believed to be a 20-year-old woman — who then threatened to make the image public if he refused to pay. 'He didn't realize these people were taking advantage of him, and he was terrified of what it would do to us,' Last's mother, Pauline Stuart, told the Los Angeles Times. Advertisement Last's death sparked a massive international investigation into the scheme that targeted 'thousands of victims' — including minors — in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, France, Spain, and Italy, according to federal prosecutors. 5 Ryan Last, 17, killed himself in Feb. 2022 after he was sextorted on Meta. via San Jose Police Department 5 The high school senior from San Jose planned to attend Washington State University. via San Jose Police Department Advertisement Last was contacted on Meta by Alfred Kassi, of Côte d'Ivoire, who, posing as a young woman, allegedly sent an explicit photo and then asked for one in return. Kassi then immediately demanded $5,000 from the boy, threatening to share the nude photo with Last's friends and family, CNN reported. Kassi lowered the price to just $150 when the desperate teen said he couldn't afford what he'd asked. Stuart said that once her son forwarded the money, the scammers 'continued to hound him.' Before taking his own life, Last wrote a note apologizing for what had happened, his mother said. Advertisement Kassi was arrested by Ivorian law enforcement on April 29. He was found with the sextortion exchange still on his phone, according to the Justice Department. 5 Last had sent a nude photo to a scammer he believed to be a 20-year-old woman. via San Jose Police Department 5 Last's mother she hopes the arrests scare scammers targeting Americans from abroad. Investigators also identified several money laundering accomplices who had helped Kassi move Last's $150. Advertisement One of those alleged money launderers is Oumarou Ouedraogo, who was arrested by Ivorian law enforcement on April 25. Two other Ivorians, Moussa Diaby and Oumar Cisse, were also part of Kassi's sextortion network and confessed to their own sextortion crimes. A US-based accomplice, Jonathan Kassi — unrelated to Alfred Kassi — was convicted in 2023 in a California State Court and sentenced to 18 months in jail. 5 Ryan Last via San Jose Police Department Côte d'Ivoire does not extradite its own citizens, meaning the four defendants living in Africa will be prosecuted in their home country under Ivorian cybercrime laws, according to the DOJ. Stuart said she hopes the arrests send a strong message to scammers targeting Americans from abroad. 'We're feeling grateful that [law enforcement officials] didn't give up and they continued to work,' Stuart said. Advertisement 'Unfortunately, it will never bring Ryan back. It's one of those double-edged swords,' she added. 'My son's still gone, but I'm hoping that, with this arrest, it brings awareness and scares the scammers, because they kind of feel safe over in a foreign country. They don't think they can be touched.'
NDTV
13-05-2025
- NDTV
At 17, Sextortion Drove Him To Suicide. Police Finally His Blackmailers
At least four people have been arrested in Cote d'Ivoire for their alleged roles in a global sextortion and money laundering scam, which forced a 17-year-old boy to die by suicide in Northern California in 2022. Ivorian police detained Alfred Kassi, Moussa Diaby, Oumarou Ouedraogo, and Oumar Cisse on criminal charges of running a sextortion scheme, which involved coercing people into sharing obscene photos online by threatening them. The authorities claimed the four men also targeted thousands of victims worldwide, including children from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Spain, and Italy, and "sextorted" online. Ryan Last, a 17-year-old San Jose high school senior, was one of the casualties. According to officials, the youngster died by suicide within hours of being threatened by the defendants, the US Department of Justice announced. Mr Last, who intended to enrol at Washington State University, was sextorted online by a person posing as a woman in her 20s. The teen, previously, paid $150 to stop them from leaking his private photos. The evidence eventually led authorities to identify Kassi, an Ivorian citizen residing in Cote d'Ivoire, as the person allegedly carrying out the sextortion. The Justice Department claimed that when Kassi was arrested on April 29, he had the messages he sent to Mr Last requesting payment in return for preserving his private photos. Authorities claimed Ouedraogo assisted Kassi in transferring the money he received from the teenager. The investigation involved the US and Ivorian law enforcement and identified several other suspected money laundering accomplices. According to the Justice Department, Ouedraogo was taken into custody by Ivorian police on April 25. Diaby and Cisse reportedly admitted their involvement in Kassi's alleged sextortion ring and their personal sextortion offences. According to the Justice Department, the four men will face prosecution in their home country under Ivorian cybercrime laws because the Ivorian government does not extradite its citizens. Jonathan Kassi, a US-based accomplice who is unrelated to Alfred Kassi, was also found guilty by a California State Court in another case in 2023 and handed an 18-month prison sentence. Last's mother, Pauline Stuart, commented on the recent arrests, saying, "We're feeling grateful that [law enforcement officials] didn't give up and they continued to work," per the Los Angeles Times. The fraudster allegedly sent Last an explicit photo and demanded one in return, CNN reported. He then threatened to expose the picture to Mr Last's friends and family and demanded $5,000. After Last stated that he didn't have the money, they reduced it to $150.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Yahoo
'Sextortion' scam linked to California teen's suicide leads to 4 arrests in West Africa
Three years after a California teen killed himself as a result of being "sextorted" online, authorities have arrested four men in Ivory Coast for their roles in an international scheme that targeted thousands of victims around the globe, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Ivorian law enforcement arrested Alfred Kassi, Oumarou Ouedraogo, Moussa Diaby and Oumar Cisse on criminal charges relating to the sextortion scheme, which involved people being threatened and coerced into sending explicit images online, the Justice Department announced last week. The scheme targeted people, including minors, throughout the U.S., Canada, United Kingdom, France, Spain and Italy. Among the victims was Ryan Last, a 17-year-old high school senior from San Jose. Last, who planned to attend Washington State University, killed himself in February 2022, hours after being sextorted online by someone pretending to be a 20-year-old woman, authorities said. The teenager had paid $150 to prevent intimate images he had sent from being disseminated. Evidence, which authorities did not disclose, ultimately led law enforcement to Kassi, an Ivorian citizen living in Ivory Coast. At the time of Kassi's arrest on April 29, he allegedly still had the messages he sent to Last on his phone demanding payment in exchange for not disseminating Last's photos, according to the Justice Department. "We're feeling grateful that [law enforcement officials] didn't give up and they continued to work," Pauline Stuart, Last's mom, said about the recent arrests. "Unfortunately it will never bring Ryan back. It's one of those double-edged swords. My son's still gone, but I'm hoping that, with this arrest, it brings awareness and scares the scammers, because they kind of feel safe over in a foreign country. They don't think they can be touched." The investigation, involving U.S. and Ivorian law enforcement, also identified several alleged money laundering accomplices, including Ouedraogo, who authorities said helped Kassi move the money he received from the teenager. Ivorian law enforcement arrested Ouedraogo on April 25, according to the Justice Department. Diaby and Cisse were allegedly part of Kassi's alleged sextortion network and admitted to their own sextortion crimes, according to the Justice Department. A U.S.-based accomplice, Jonathan Kassi, who is not related to Alfred Kassi, was convicted in a California state court in 2023 and sentenced to 18 months in jail. The government of Ivory Coast doesn't extradite its own citizens, so those arrested will be prosecuted in their own country under Ivorian cybercrime statutes, according to the Justice Department. In a 2022 video posted on the San Jose Police Department's Facebook page, Stuart described her son as a straight-A student, who was planning to major in agricultural biotechnology. She said Last was "a very trusting person" who was catfished by a person who flirted and showed interest in him. "This is one of the huge problems with social media," Stuart said. "People can pretend to be anyone." According to CNN, the scammer sent Last a nude photo and then asked for one in return. The scammer then demanded $5,000, threatening to publicize the photo and send it to Last's family and friends. The total was later dropped to $150, after Last said he couldn't pay the full amount. Stuart said that once her son sent the money, the scammers "continued to hound him." In a suicide note, Stuart told The Times, Last apologized for not being smart enough. "He didn't realize these people were taking advantage of him, and he was terrified of what it would do to us," Stuart said. Stuart said the scam unfolded despite the fact that they had parental controls on their son's phone and apps. She urged parents to speak with their children so they felt comfortable coming to them about any mistake. "We just need to make sure that our kids know you're going to be there, they're your everything," Stuart said. "No mistake that we make is worth taking our lives." The FBI's Sacramento office warned parents last year about the growing threat of sextortion. From October 2021 to March 2023, the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations received more than 13,000 reports of online financial sextortion of minors, according to the FBI. The sextortion involved at least 12,600 victims — primarily boys — and resulted in at least 20 suicides. The FBI separately said it saw an at least 20% increase in reporting of financially motivated sextortion incidents involving minors from October 2022 to March 2023, compared to the same period the year before, according to the agency. 'Our office, which covers 34 counties in California, has seen a significant increase in reported sextortion incidents and the majority of these involve financial sextortion,' Special Agent in Charge Sean Ragan of the FBI Sacramento Field Office said in a 2024 news release. 'We urge victims to preserve all evidence and seek help quickly," Ragan said. "Don't delete any communication, even if it is embarrassing. We protect and support victims of sextortion, ensuring they are connected to the resources they need to recover." Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
12-05-2025
- Los Angeles Times
‘Sextortion' scam linked to California teen's suicide leads to 4 arrests in West Africa
Three years after a California teen killed himself as a result of being 'sextorted' online, authorities have arrested four men in Ivory Coast for their roles in an international scheme that targeted thousands of victims around the globe, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Ivorian law enforcement arrested Alfred Kassi, Oumarou Ouedraogo, Moussa Diaby and Oumar Cisse on criminal charges relating to the sextortion scheme, which involved people being threatened and coerced into sending explicit images online, the Justice Department announced last week. The scheme targeted people, including minors, throughout the U.S., Canada, United Kingdom, France, Spain and Italy. Among the victims was Ryan Last, a 17-year-old high school senior from San Jose. Last, who planned to attend Washington State University, killed himself in February 2022, hours after being sextorted online by someone pretending to be a 20-year-old woman, authorities said. The teenager had paid $150 to prevent intimate images he had sent from being disseminated. Evidence, which authorities did not disclose, ultimately led law enforcement to Kassi, an Ivorian citizen living in Ivory Coast. At the time of Kassi's arrest on April 29, he allegedly still had the messages he sent to Last on his phone demanding payment in exchange for not disseminating Last's photos, according to the Justice Department. 'We're feeling grateful that [law enforcement officials] didn't give up and they continued to work,' Pauline Stuart, Last's mom, said about the recent arrests. 'Unfortunately it will never bring Ryan back. It's one of those double-edged swords. My son's still gone, but I'm hoping that, with this arrest, it brings awareness and scares the scammers, because they kind of feel safe over in a foreign country. They don't think they can be touched.' The investigation, involving U.S. and Ivorian law enforcement, also identified several alleged money laundering accomplices, including Ouedraogo, who authorities said helped Kassi move the money he received from the teenager. Ivorian law enforcement arrested Ouedraogo on April 25, according to the Justice Department. Diaby and Cisse were allegedly part of Kassi's alleged sextortion network and admitted to their own sextortion crimes, according to the Justice Department. A U.S.-based accomplice, Jonathan Kassi, who is not related to Alfred Kassi, was convicted in a California state court in 2023 and sentenced to 18 months in jail. The government of Ivory Coast doesn't extradite its own citizens, so those arrested will be prosecuted in their own country under Ivorian cybercrime statutes, according to the Justice Department. In a 2022 video posted on the San Jose Police Department's Facebook page, Stuart described her son as a straight-A student, who was planning to major in agricultural biotechnology. She said Last was 'a very trusting person' who was catfished by a person who flirted and showed interest in him. 'This is one of the huge problems with social media,' Stuart said. 'People can pretend to be anyone.' According to CNN, the scammer sent Last a nude photo and then asked for one in return. The scammer then demanded $5,000, threatening to publicize the photo and send it to Last's family and friends. The total was later dropped to $150, after Last said he couldn't pay the full amount. Stuart said that once her son sent the money, the scammers 'continued to hound him.' In a suicide note, Stuart told The Times, Last apologized for not being smart enough. 'He didn't realize these people were taking advantage of him, and he was terrified of what it would do to us,' Stuart said. Stuart said the scam unfolded despite the fact that they had parental controls on their son's phone and apps. She urged parents to speak with their children so they felt comfortable coming to them about any mistake. 'We just need to make sure that our kids know you're going to be there, they're your everything,' Stuart said. 'No mistake that we make is worth taking our lives.' The FBI's Sacramento office warned parents last year about the growing threat of sextortion. From October 2021 to March 2023, the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations received more than 13,000 reports of online financial sextortion of minors, according to the FBI. The sextortion involved at least 12,600 victims — primarily boys — and resulted in at least 20 suicides. The FBI separately said it saw an at least 20% increase in reporting of financially motivated sextortion incidents involving minors from October 2022 to March 2023, compared to the same period the year before, according to the agency. 'Our office, which covers 34 counties in California, has seen a significant increase in reported sextortion incidents and the majority of these involve financial sextortion,' Special Agent in Charge Sean Ragan of the FBI Sacramento Field Office said in a 2024 news release. 'We urge victims to preserve all evidence and seek help quickly,' Ragan said. 'Don't delete any communication, even if it is embarrassing. We protect and support victims of sextortion, ensuring they are connected to the resources they need to recover.'
