Ghanaian national arrested in US over nude photo extortion charge

A 21-year-old Ghanaian national, Cross Abu Cole, has been arrested and charged in the United States for allegedly attempting to extort money by threatening to release nude images of a victim, including images taken when the victim was a minor.

According to a press release issued by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of New York on Tuesday, 10 June 2025, Cole was taken into custody upon arrival at an airport in Houston, Texas.

“Cross Abu Cole, 21, a citizen of Ghana who was taken into custody when he landed in Houston, TX, was arrested and charged by criminal complaint with interstate communications with intent to extort,” the statement read. If convicted, Cole faces a maximum penalty of two years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron J. Mango, who is prosecuting the case, revealed that the investigation began in October 2022, when the victim, a U.S. resident, reported receiving threatening messages involving nude photographs of himself as a minor.

The victim told investigators that he was contacted by someone using a mobile number who demanded a $200 payment via CashApp to the account name “$zettsa.” The sender warned that failure to pay would result in the explicit photos being sent to the victim’s Snapchat contacts.

Shortly after the threat, the victim received two nude images: one of himself as a minor and another of a friend. The victim said both appeared to have been accessed from his Snapchat account, which had been previously linked to a hacked Yahoo email.

Although the victim initially attempted to send the payment, he cancelled the transaction after consulting with his father. Nonetheless, the threats persisted, with more messages coming from the same phone number.

Further FBI investigation linked the threatening messages and hacked accounts to Cole, leading to his arrest. He made his initial court appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael J. Roemer and was ordered to remain in custody.

The case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), under the direction of Acting Special Agent-in-Charge Mark Grimm.

Authorities have emphasised that the criminal complaint is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.