SAN JOSE, Calif. — Federal officials have announced the arrest of four men from Ivory Coast in connection with a global sextortion scam that led to the suicide of a 17-year-old San Jose student, Ryan Last, in February 2022.
Last, a high school senior, died by suicide just hours after interacting on Facebook with someone he believed was a young woman. The individual sent him a nude photo and asked for one in return. Soon after he complied, the extortion began.
The scammers demanded $5,000, threatening to release the explicit image to Last’s friends and family. When he explained he couldn’t afford the full amount, they reduced the demand to $150—but according to his mother, Pauline Stuart, the threats didn’t stop, even after he paid.
“He was a very trusting person,” Stuart told the Los Angeles Times, explaining that her son was deeply afraid of the damage the photo might cause to his loved ones. In a note he left behind, Last apologized for the situation, showing just how much distress the scam had caused.
U.S. officials say Alfred Kassi, one of the accused, was arrested in Ivory Coast in April. Authorities discovered the original extortion messages from February 2022 still stored on his phone. Three others were also arrested and charged with money laundering, accused of participating in a scam that targeted thousands across the United States, Canada, and Europe.
Another member of the group, Jonathan Kassi, was previously arrested in Los Angeles in December 2022. He was convicted in state court of extortion and sentenced to 18 months in prison.
Due to Ivory Coast’s policy of not extraditing its citizens, the four men arrested there will face cybercrime charges domestically, according to the Associated Press.
