Citizen of Ghana arrested on extortion charge

BUFFALO, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that 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, which carries a maximum penalty of two years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron J. Mango, who is handling the case, stated that according to the complaint, in October 2022, an individual (Victim) reported to the FBI that he was the victim of an extortion threat that involved the use of nude photographs of himself from when he was a minor. The Victim told investigators that he received text messages that demanded he send $200 to the CashApp account “$zettsa,” otherwise the nude photographs would be sent to his Snapchat contacts. The Victim then received two nude photographs, one from when he was a minor, and the second, a nude photograph of his friend, which the Victim stated had come from his Snapchat account. The Victim sent $200 to the CashApp account but cancelled the payment after speaking with his father. He then continued to receive multiple text messages from the same telephone number that made the threats. The Victim, whose Yahoo account connected to his Snapchat account had previously been hacked, later learned that some of his Snapchat contacts had received his nude photographs from a separate Snapchat account. Subsequent investigation traced the telephone number texting the threats to Cole.

Cole made an initial appearance this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael J. Roemer and was detained.

The complaint is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent-in-Charge Mark Grimm.

The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.   

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