{"id":5216,"date":"2024-09-10T09:06:19","date_gmt":"2024-09-10T14:06:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/?p=81688"},"modified":"2024-09-10T09:06:19","modified_gmt":"2024-09-10T14:06:19","slug":"four-delaware-men-charged-in-international-sextortion-scheme-that-netted-nearly-2-million","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/2024\/09\/10\/four-delaware-men-charged-in-international-sextortion-scheme-that-netted-nearly-2-million\/","title":{"rendered":"Four Delaware men charged in international sextortion scheme that netted nearly $2 million"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><head> <meta charset=\"UTF-8\"> <meta name=\"viewport\" content=\"width=device-width, initial-scale=1\"> <meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-image-preview:large, max-snippet:-1, max-video-preview:-1\"> <!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v21.7 (Yoast SEO v21.7) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ --> <title>Four Delaware 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js-stickybar\">\n<div class=\"stickybar__details\" readability=\"4.952380952381\">\n<div class=\"stickybar__info js-sticky-bar-content\" readability=\"32\">\n<p>Voting is open for the 2024 CyberScoop 50 awards!&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <a class=\"stickybar__link button button-tertiary\" href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/cyberscoop50\/vote\/\">Click here!<\/a> <\/div>\n<p> <button class=\"stickybar__close js-stickybar-close\" aria-controls=\"stickybar\"> <svg class=\"icon icon--close\" width=\"21\" height=\"22\" viewBox=\"0 0 21 22\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"m.822.518-.805.805L9.695 11 .017 20.678l.805.805 9.678-9.678 9.677 9.678.806-.805L11.305 11l9.678-9.677-.806-.805-9.677 9.677L.822.518Z\" fill=\"currentColor\" \/><\/svg> <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Close<\/span> <\/button> <\/section>\n<article class=\"single-article content\">\n<div class=\"single-article__container js-single-article-content\">\n<header class=\"single-article__header \" readability=\"27.506775067751\">\n<div class=\"single-article__header-content\" readability=\"35.088709677419\">\n<ul class=\"single-article__eyebrow\">\n<li class=\"single-article__category\"> <a class=\"single-article__category-link\" href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/news\/threats\/cybercrime\/\"> <span>Cybercrime<\/span> <\/a> <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> The group, along with others, targeted thousands of victims across the U.S., U.K., and Canada, prosecutors allege. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"single-article__cover-wrap\">\n<figure class=\"single-article__cover\"> <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" fetchpriority=\"high\" width=\"640\" height=\"426\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/four-delaware-men-charged-in-international-sextortion-scheme-that-netted-nearly-2-million.jpg?resize=640%2C426&#038;ssl=1\" class=\"single-article__cover-image wp-post-image\" alt decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/four-delaware-men-charged-in-international-sextortion-scheme-that-netted-nearly-2-million-2.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/four-delaware-men-charged-in-international-sextortion-scheme-that-netted-nearly-2-million-2.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/four-delaware-men-charged-in-international-sextortion-scheme-that-netted-nearly-2-million-2.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/four-delaware-men-charged-in-international-sextortion-scheme-that-netted-nearly-2-million-2.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/four-delaware-men-charged-in-international-sextortion-scheme-that-netted-nearly-2-million-2.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/four-delaware-men-charged-in-international-sextortion-scheme-that-netted-nearly-2-million-2.jpg?resize=600,400 600w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/four-delaware-men-charged-in-international-sextortion-scheme-that-netted-nearly-2-million-2.jpg?resize=252,168 252w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/four-delaware-men-charged-in-international-sextortion-scheme-that-netted-nearly-2-million-2.jpg?resize=506,337 506w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/four-delaware-men-charged-in-international-sextortion-scheme-that-netted-nearly-2-million-2.jpg?resize=1013,675 1013w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/four-delaware-men-charged-in-international-sextortion-scheme-that-netted-nearly-2-million-2.jpg?resize=1265,843 1265w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1013px) 100vw, 1013px\"><figcaption> The Department of Justice (DOJ) in Washington, DC, on February 5, 2022. (Photo by STEFANI REYNOLDS\/AFP via Getty Images) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"single-article__content\">\n<div class=\"single-article__content-inner has-drop-cap\"> <html readability=\"29.116093880972\"><body readability=\"59.266821345708\"><\/p>\n<p>Four Delaware men accused of an international sextortion scheme targeting thousands of victims across three countries were arrested or self-surrendered in recent weeks to face charges, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/opa\/pr\/four-delaware-men-charged-international-sextortion-and-money-laundering-scheme\">federal prosecutors said Monday<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The men allegedly posed as young females online and engaged in communication with thousands of potential victims in the U.S., U.K. and Canada, including minors, prosecutors allege. The men posing as young females encouraged their victims to expose themselves or engage in other sexual activity over web camera or live video chat, and then used the material to extort the victims afterward.<\/p>\n<p>The suspects successfully extorted roughly $1.9 million through CashApp and Apple Pay, prosecutors said, and attempted to extort roughly $6.9 million overall.<\/p>\n<p>The suspects are: Sidi Diakite, 30; Almamy Diaby, 22; Abdul Aziz Sangare, 26; and Adoul Aziz Traore, 31; who all live in Wilmington, Del.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad ad--inline_1 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The indictment unsealed Monday included updated charges for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/opa\/pr\/delaware-woman-arrested-international-sextortion-and-money-laundering-scheme#:~:text=According%20to%20an%20indictment%20unsealed,in%20which%20the%20conspirators%20engaged\">suspects previously arrested<\/a> in Delaware and Cote d\u2019Ivoire as part of the same scheme. Those suspects are Hadja Kone, 28, of Wilmington, and Siaka Ouattara, 22, of Abidjan, Cote d\u2019Ivoire, who was arrested by authorities there in February related to the same scheme.<\/p>\n<p>The suspects are charged with conspiracy to commit cyberstalking and to send interstate threats, money laundering, conspiracy to engage in money laundering and wire fraud. Each face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each conspiracy count and money laundering count, and a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each wire fraud count, the Department of Justice said in its statement.<\/p>\n<p>The FBI has \u201cseen a huge increase\u201d in sextortion cases recently, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fbi.gov\/how-we-can-help-you\/scams-and-safety\/common-frauds-and-scams\/sextortion\">agency said in post<\/a> on its website detailing how to recognize sextortion attempts and who to call for help. Financial losses are not the only impact of sextortion, the agency noted, pointing to a recent case where one 17-year-old victim took his own life.<\/p>\n<p>Two Nigerian men charged in that case \u2014&nbsp;Samuel Ogoshi, 24, and Samson Ogoshi, 21 \u2014&nbsp;were <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/usao-wdmi\/pr\/2024_0905_Ogoshi_Brothers_Sentenced\">sentenced Sept. 5<\/a> to 210 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release.<\/p>\n<p><\/body> <\/p>\n<footer class=\"single-article__footer\" readability=\"1.1739130434783\">\n<div class=\"author-card\" readability=\"8\">\n<div class=\"author-card__avatar\">\n<figure class=\"author-card__image-wrap\"> <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"author-card__image\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/four-delaware-men-charged-in-international-sextortion-scheme-that-netted-nearly-2-million-1.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"AJ Vicens\"> <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><h4 class=\"author-card__name\">Written by AJ Vicens<\/h4>\n<p> AJ covers nation-state threats and cybercrime. He was previously a reporter at Mother Jones. 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