A 21-year-old Ghanaian national, Cross Abu Cole, has been sentenced to time served—approximately seven months—by a United States District Court after being convicted of interstate communications with intent to extort using a Snapchat account.
The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo in Buffalo, New York, according to an announcement by the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of New York, Michael DiGiacomo.
Following the completion of his custodial sentence, Cole was transferred to the custody of the Department of Homeland Security.
Court records presented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron J. Mango, who prosecuted the case, indicate that the offence occurred on October 30, 2022.
Investigators said the Ghanaian unlawfully accessed a Snapchat account belonging to an individual identified in court documents as the Victim and obtained private nude photographs stored on the account.
Prosecutors said Cole later contacted the Victim using a Google Voice phone number and demanded a payment of $200.
He allegedly threatened to harm the Victim’s reputation by distributing the images to family members and friends if the money was not paid.
Although an initial $200 payment was made via CashApp as instructed, the Victim later cancelled the transaction. Despite this, the Victim subsequently discovered that some of the Snapchat contacts of the Ghanaian national had already received the images.
The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Philip Tejera.
U.S. authorities have not released additional details regarding immigration proceedings, but confirmed that Cole was handed over to the Department of Homeland Security after serving his sentence.
In September this year, Interpol carried out a continent-wide operation that led to the arrest of 260 people in 14 African countries, targeting networks behind online romance scams and extortion schemes that cheated more than 1,400 victims out of nearly $2.8 million.
According to DW Africa, the coordinated crackdown underscores the rising threat of cyber fraud, which increasingly preys on vulnerable individuals around the world.
