A 21-year-old Ghanaian citizen, Cross Abu Cole, has been sentenced to time served of about seven months by a United States District Court after being convicted of interstate communications with intent to extort.

The sentence was handed down by U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo in Buffalo, New York, following an announcement by the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of New York, Michael DiGiacomo. Cole has since been turned over to the Department of Homeland Security.

According to court records outlined by Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron J. Mango, who handled the prosecution, the offence dates back to October 30, 2022.

Cole was said to have improperly accessed a Snapchat account belonging to an individual identified as the Victim and obtained nude photographs stored on the account.

Investigators said Cole subsequently contacted the Victim using a Google Voice telephone number and demanded a payment of $200. Prosecutors said he threatened that if the money was not paid, he would damage the Victim’s reputation by releasing the nude photographs to the Victim’s family and friends.

An initial payment of $200 was made via CashApp as instructed, but the Victim later cancelled the transaction. Despite this, the Victim later discovered that some of his Snapchat contacts had already received the nude photographs.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation under the direction of the Special Agent in Charge, Philip Tejera.

U.S. authorities have not disclosed further details about immigration proceedings, but confirmed that Cole has been handed over to the Department of Homeland Security following the completion of his custodial sentence.