Four men in Côte d’Ivoire have been apprehended on charges related to an international "sextortion" scheme that affected thousands of victims across the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, France, Spain, and Italy.
In February 2022, Ryan Last, a 17-year-old from San Jose, California, took his own life shortly after being extorted online by someone posing as a 20-year-old woman. A thorough investigation involving U.S. and Ivorian law enforcement led to the identification of Alfred Kassi in Côte d’Ivoire as the alleged perpetrator. On April 29, Kassi was detained by local authorities. It is reported that at the time of his arrest, he still had messages related to the sextortion incident with the victim on his phone.
The investigation also uncovered several individuals allegedly involved in laundering money obtained through these crimes. Oumarou Ouedraogo was arrested on April 25 for allegedly assisting Kassi in moving funds paid by the victim to prevent intimate images from being released. Two other suspects, Moussa Diaby and Oumar Cisse, were also detained for their roles in the network and admitted to participating in similar offenses. In addition, Jonathan Kassi (not related to Alfred Kassi), based in the U.S., was convicted in 2023 and sentenced to 18 months imprisonment for his involvement.
Due to Côte d’Ivoire's policy against extraditing its citizens, these individuals will face prosecution under Ivorian cybercrime laws.
The announcement came from Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting U.S. Attorney Patrick D. Robbins for Northern California, and Acting Assistant Director Darren Cox of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division.
The FBI spearheaded the investigation with significant support from various entities including the San Jose Police Department and Meta. The Anti-Terrorist Operational Intelligence Center (CROAT) conducted operations within Côte d’Ivoire.
Legal assistance throughout this process was provided by Trial Attorney Austin M. Berry from the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Marissa Harris for Northern California.
Authorities urge anyone facing exploitation through sextortion to contact their local FBI office or report it via online platforms such as the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3).
All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court.