
The FBI just dropped a bombshell with the arrest of four men in Côte d’Ivoire for their roles in an international "sextortion" scheme that drove a California teenager to suicide.
After three long years, the family of a California teen driven to suicide by online extortion might finally see justice.
That’s because the Feds just made a bombshell discovery on the suspect’s phone that cracked the case wide open.
California family’s nightmare started with a single message
Back in February 2022, Ryan Last, a 17-year-old high schooler from San Jose, got a message from someone claiming to be a young woman. The conversation turned flirty, then deadly serious.
After being tricked into sending compromising photos, the scammer showed his true colors. Pay up or the photos go public.
Ryan, desperate and terrified, scraped together $150. But the blackmail didn’t stop there.
That night, the teen took his own life. His mom found his suicide note the next morning explaining how online predators had pushed him over the edge.
For the next three years, the case sat on investigators’ desks while they hunted down the faceless criminals behind a computer screen.
Feds finally nail the suspects
The big break came last month when police in Côte d’Ivoire (that’s the Ivory Coast, in Africa) slapped handcuffs on Alfred Kassi, the man believed to be behind Ryan’s death.
When cops searched Kassi’s phone, they found the smoking gun. This criminal mastermind hadn’t even bothered deleting the original blackmail messages he sent to Ryan back in 2022.
You can’t make this stuff up.
Three more arrests quickly followed:
Oumarou Ouedraogo got nabbed on April 25. He allegedly helped launder the blood money from countless victims.
Police also rounded up Moussa Diaby and Oumar Cisse, who reportedly sang like canaries and admitted to running their own sextortion rackets when questioned.
A fifth man with ties to the scheme, Jonathan Kassi (no relation to Alfred), already got nailed by California prosecutors in 2023 and is serving 18 months behind bars.
The sick operation went global
These weren’t small-time crooks. The investigation blew the lid off a massive criminal enterprise targeting thousands of victims across six countries – the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, France, Spain, and Italy.
They had the whole thing down to a science – find vulnerable kids, trick them, threaten them, then squeeze them for cash.
The Justice Department’s press release was crystal clear about the scope of these crimes, noting the defendants "allegedly preyed on thousands of victims, including minors" across multiple countries.
Getting justice won’t be simple
Here’s the rub – since Côte d’Ivoire refuses to hand over its citizens to other countries, the four creeps arrested there won’t face American justice. They’ll be tried under their own country’s cybercrime laws instead.
But the arrests show that even cybercriminals hiding in faraway countries aren’t beyond reach anymore. The FBI, San Jose police, the U.S. Embassy in Abidjan, and even Meta (Facebook’s parent company) all teamed up to track these guys down.
Sextortion cases rising across America
The FBI has warned that sextortion cases are increasing at an alarming rate, with thousands of new victims coming forward each year.
These online perverts run a simple but devastating con. They create fake profiles, usually pretending to be attractive young women. Then they target teenage boys and young men, sweet-talking them into sending compromising photos.
Once they have the goods, the trap snaps shut – pay up or we’ll send these photos to everyone you know. Your parents. Your friends. Your coach. Your teachers. Everyone.
The mental anguish is brutal. Young victims feel trapped, humiliated, and utterly alone. For Ryan Last and other teens like him, that shame became too much to bear.
Parents need to have some uncomfortable conversations with their kids about these dangers. The hard truth is that no one should ever send compromising photos to anyone online – period. That cute girl who just started messaging you out of the blue? Probably some middle-aged criminal overseas.
The FBI has emphasized the importance of reporting these crimes immediately. The bureau urges victims or their parents to contact their local FBI field office or call 1-800-CALL-FBI if they’re being targeted by these schemes. The FBI also emphasizes that victims should immediately contact law enforcement if they’re being targeted by sextortion schemes.
"These cases are a stark reminder of how a moment of vulnerability online can lead to devastating real-world consequences," said Acting Assistant Director Darren Cox of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division.
"We urge anyone being victimized in these schemes to come forward immediately. Your cooperation is essential to stopping these criminals and preventing further tragedies."
If you or someone you know is being exploited through sextortion, report it to your local FBI field office, call 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324), or file a report at the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3).