Four men from Ivory Coast, a West African country, have been arrested some three years after a 17-year-old boy caught in a “sextortion” scam took his own life, federal officials announced.
A high school senior in San Jose, Ryan Last, took his own life in Feb. 2022 just hours after corresponding with a person on Facebook he believed was a woman who, according to CNN, sent him a nude photo and asked for one from him.
The extortionists immediately demanded $5,000 from the teen, threatening to send his nude photo to friends and family. The price was eventually lowered to $150 when Last told them he couldn’t pay all of it.
His mother, Pauline Stuart, who described her son as a “very trusting person,” said the thieves “continued to hound him,” even after he paid, the L.A. Times reported.
In a suicide note, the teen reportedly apologized for the ordeal, his mother telling The Times that her son was terrified of what the explicit photo would do to his family.
Officials said his blackmailer, Alfred Kassi, was arrested in Ivory Coast in April, adding that the man reportedly still had the Feb. 2022 extortion messages sent to the teen victim on his phone, the Department of Justice said.
Three additional men were arrested on charges of money laundering. Federal officials said the foursome had targeted thousands of victims across the U.S., Canada and Europe.
A fifth member of the “sextortion” crew, Jonathan Kassi, was arrested in L.A. in Dec. 2022, was convicted of extortion in state court and sentenced to 18 months in prison.
Because Ivory Coast does not extradite its citizens, the four arrested will face cybercrime-related charges in their own country, the Associated Press reported.
If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide, call 988 to get free help from a trained mental health professional. Text “Home” to 741741 in the U.S. or Canada to reach the Crisis Text Line.
