Four men have been arrested after a California teen died by suicide hours after he became the target of an international ‘sextortion’ scheme.

Ryan Last, 17, sent intimate photos of himself to someone he thought was a 20-year-old woman – but turned out to be part of a blackmail gang in West Africa.

The straight-A high school senior, fearing the photos would be leaked onto the internet, tragically took his own life shortly after the scammers demanded money to keep the images private.

Authorities revealed on May 9 that ‘thousands’ of victims in the U.S., Canada and Europe – including minors – had been targeted by the group.

Last was a student at Ann Sobrato High School in Morgan Hill, 22 miles south of San Jose.

His death in February 2022 sparked an investigation which has led to the arrest of ringleader Alfred Kassi who lives in the Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d’Ivoire.

Kassi was arrested on April 29 – when it was discovered that, years later, he still had the menacing messages he sent to Last on his phone. Three other men were also arrested.

The investigation was led by the San Jose Police Department, the FBI with assistance from Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta.

A May 9 statement by the Department of Justice read: ‘Through a lengthy, coordinated investigation involving U.S. and Ivorian law enforcement, the evidence ultimately led law enforcement to identify Alfred Kassi, an Ivorian citizen living in Côte d’Ivoire, as the individual allegedly conducting the sextortion.

Ryan Last, 17, of San Jose, California, took his own life  after a cybercriminal told him he would send naked pictures of the teen to his family and friends if he failed to pay $5,000

Last’s parents, Pauline and Hagen, have become advocates speaking out against ‘sextortion’ scams targeting teen boys. Last (second from the right) is pictured with his parents and younger brother

The high school senior had finished visiting colleges when he was contacted by a scammer pretending to be a girl

Last’s death in February 2022 sparked an investigation which has now led to the arrest of ‘sextortion’ ringleader Alfred Kassi and three associates in the Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d’Ivoire

‘On April 29, Kassi was arrested by Ivorian law enforcement.

‘At the time of his arrest, Kassi allegedly still had the sextortion messages he sent to the 17-year-old victim in February 2022 on his phone.’

Three of Kassi’s alleged accomplices were also arrested. Oumarou Ouedraogo was picked up for money laundering and two others, Moussa Diaby and Oumar Cisse, were arrested for ‘sextortion crimes.’

Another accomplice, Jonathan Kassi – unrelated to Alfred Kassi – was convicted in a California court in 2023 and sentenced to 18 months in jail.

According to the DoJ, ‘The government of Côte d’Ivoire does not extradite its own citizens, so these defendants will be prosecuted in their own country under Ivorian cybercrime statutes.’

Last’s mother, Pauline Stuart, previously said in a video posted by the San Jose Police Department, that the gang ‘catfished my son and gained his trust through flirting and showing interest.’

She described her beloved son as a trusting person who had been looking forward to attending Washington State University.

‘People can pretend to be anyone,’ added Stuart. ‘The fact that he was told that they would send out or post the pictures on social media had a devastating effect on Ryan.

‘He chose to end his life, rather than have the pictures distributed on social media. He believed his reputation would be destroyed and he was terrified of what his friends and family would think.’

In a note written before his death, Last apologized for ‘not being smarter.’

Stuart previously told ABC7 following the latest arrests: ‘To him, he wasn’t smart because he fell for this scam.

‘He believed in somebody and that devastates me that he felt that he wasn’t smart because somebody took advantage of him.’

The scammers immediately demanded $5,000 from Last after he sent them an intimate photo of himself which they reduced to $150. He paid them the amount from his college fund but the gang demanded more money.

She said: ‘Somebody reached out to him pretending to be a girl, and they started a conversation.’

Stuart also previously commented to CNN: ‘He really, truly thought in that time that there wasn’t a way to get by if those pictures were actually posted online.

‘His note showed he was absolutely terrified. No child should have to be that scared.

‘They kept demanding more and more and putting lots of continued pressure on him.’

His family didn’t know anything about the extortion until after Last’s passing.

Stuart, pictured with last, said her family is heartbroken and she is working with law enforcement so no family goes through the same pain they did

‘How could these people look at themselves in the mirror knowing that $150 is more important than a child’s life,’ she told CNN.

‘There’s no other word but ‘evil’ for me that they care much more about money than a child’s life,’ she added. ‘I don’t want anybody else to go through what we did.’

Last’s father also previously commented on Facebook: ‘We thought we did everything correctly protecting our boys from any online threats.

‘But Ryan still became the victim of an online scam that ended with blackmail. In the end he got so embarrassed and scared that he only saw one way out.

‘We want to help to make sure that this will not happen to any other family. And the best way to do that is to help educate parents and children about what dangers exist on the internet.’

The FBI says sextortion schemes are on the rise. According to their Internet Crime Complaint Center, there were over 54,000 victims in 2024, up from 34,000 in 2023.