Law enforcement authorities in the United States have arrested a 21-year-old Ghanaian man, Cross Abu Cole, on serious charges of extortion. Cole was taken into custody in Houston, Texas, immediately upon his arrival in the city. He now faces a maximum penalty of two years in prison and a substantial $250,000 fine if convicted of the charges.
According to details provided by Assistant US Attorney Aaron Mango, Cole’s arrest on June 10, 2025, stems from a complaint filed in October 2022 by a victim whose identity remains confidential. The victim reported being subjected to an extortion threat involving highly sensitive material: nude photographs of himself taken when he was a minor. This disturbing allegation formed the core of the complaint that triggered the federal investigation.
The US Attorney General’s office released a press statement outlining the alleged sequence of events. It details how Abu Cole reportedly continued to harass the victim with a barrage of text messages, threatening to release and publicly share these explicit photos if the victim failed to pay a sum of $200. To demonstrate the seriousness of his threats and to exert pressure, the suspect allegedly sent two of the nude photos – one of the victim from when he was a minor, and another of the victim’s friend – directly to the victim.
Initially, under duress, the victim proceeded with the ransom payment. However, in a critical turn of events, the payment was reversed and canceled after the victim confided in his father about the blackmail attempt. The statement further explained the specifics of the demands: “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 receipt of the two nude photographs, one of which was clearly identifiable as from the victim’s minor years and the other from his Snapchat account, served as clear evidence of the threats.
Despite the payment being canceled, Abu Cole allegedly made good on his threats. He reportedly proceeded to share the victim’s nude photographs with his contacts on Snapchat. The report added, “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.” This act of public dissemination further compounded the victim’s distress and solidified the basis for the extortion charges.
Police investigations played a crucial role in tracking down the perpetrator. Authorities successfully traced the mobile phone number used to send the threatening messages back to Abu Cole, ultimately leading to his apprehension. Following his arrest, Abu Cole appeared before US Magistrate Judge Michael J. Roemer on June 10, 2025, and was subsequently detained. The victim’s complaint initiated a thorough investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, led by Acting Special Agent-in-Charge Mark Grimm. It’s important to remember, however, that being charged with a crime does not imply guilt unless proven in a court of law.
Source: http://Thepressradio.com
