Delaware
Delaware woman accused in sextortion plot to blackmail $6M from victims in US and UK
A group including a woman from Delaware are accused of trying to blackmail young men and boys out of millions of dollars, after posing as young women and filming the victims engaging in sexual acts online.
The US Department of Justice announced Friday that Hadja Kone, 28, from Wilmington, had been arrested over her alleged role in the so-called sextortion scheme.
Ms Kone and other co-conspirators are accused of operating “an international, financially motivated” scheme which included cyberstalking, money laundering and wire fraud.
The group successfully blackmailed some of the thousands of victims across the United States, United Kingdom and Canada out of $1.7 million, but the goal was $6 million, the DOJ said.
According to charging documents, Ms Kone and others, including Siaka Ouattara – a 22-year-old in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire – posed as young, attractive females online.
They promised their victims sexual photos, videos or live webcam sessions, even though they were the ones operating the accounts.
Then, when the victims either exposed their genitals or performed other sexual activity, Ms Kone and others allegedly secretly filmed them.
Victims were then sent copies of those images or videos, with threats that they would be sent to the victim’s friends, family or employers, as well as being shared widely on the internet, unless they handed over money.
The DOJ alleges that Kone, Ouattara and others had a framework in place to launder the cash to people in Côte d’Ivoire and elsewhere overseas.
Ouattara was arrested in February on similar charges, with authorities in Côte d’Ivoire working with the FBI on the case.
Both are charged with conspiracy to commit cyberstalking and to send interstate threats, conspiracy to engage in money laundering, money laundering, and wire fraud. If convicted, they face up to 20 years for each count.
In 2022, the FBI warned that sextortion cases affecting teenage boys had risen sharply, with some 3,000 reported victims that year alone.
Most victims were aged between 14 and 17, but could be as young as 10, the agency said.
One of those victims was Jordan DeMay, a 17-year-old in Michigan who took his own life after he was blackmailed by Nigerian men posing as a woman. They blackmailed him for $1,000.
The boy only had $300 and was subjected to continued threats before he ended his life.
According to the FBI’s 2022 report, Jordan is not alone in feeling like this was his only option.
“Victims may feel like there is no way out—it is up to all of us to reassure them that they are not in trouble, there is hope, and they are not alone,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray in a statement at the time.
With much of this type of crime taking place on social media, Instagram owner Meta announced this week that it will test a nudity screening tool in its messaging apps.
The change would automatically blur nude photos for those under 18, with messages from the app reminding users they should not feel pressure to respond in kind.
The option to message users who are under-age will also be removed for suspicious profiles, the company said.
A man riding motorcycle was killed in a crash in Wilmington on Saturday afternoon, Delaware State Police said.
The crash occurred at around 1 p.m. at the intersection of Limestone Road and Ocheltree Lane, police said. An investigation has found that the motorcyclist was traveling northbound on Limestone Road when he was struck by a Honda Accord that was trying to make a left turn onto Ocheltree Lane from the southbound side of Limestone Road.
The man on the motorcycle tried to avoid the crash by laying the motorcycle down on the road, but the motorcycle slid into the Honda, causing the man to be ejected from the motorcycle, police said.
The motorcyclist, who has been identified as a 38-year-old from Wilmington, was later pronounced dead at the hospital. The man’s name is being withheld at this time so next of kin can be notified, police said.
According to police, the motorcyclist was wearing a helmet and had a green light at the time of the crash. The Honda Accord, which was driven by a 77-year-old woman from Edgewood, Maryland, had a red blinking arrow light.
The woman was uninjured in the crash and police said they are still investigating the exact cause. No charges have been announced.
A fire tore through a church in Wilmington, Delaware, leaving most of the historic structure in ruins.
Battalion Chief of the Wilmington Fire Department, Robert Pryor, told NBC10 that the fire broke out around 3 a.m. on Sunday, May 17, 2026, at the Mother African Union Church along North Franklin Street.
Pryor said the fire spread throughout the entire church, shooting flames 20 to 30 feet into the air.
It took crews over an hour to get the fire under control.
Wilmington Fire Department
Wilmington Fire Department
Wilmington Fire Department
Wilmington Fire Department
While firefighters battled the flames, they also evacuated the surrounding homes due to falling embers, according to Pryor. Those residents have since returned to their homes.
Residents in the area told NBC10 that they smelled the fire before they saw it.
“I looked up the street and the flames were higher than that steeple,” said neighbor Kathleen Brawders.
Wilmington Fire Department Wilmington Fire Department 
The building is now structurally unstable, and no one is allowed inside, Pryor shared.
The cause of the fire is now under investigation.
NEW CASTLE COUNTY, Del. – A Wilmington man was arrested and charged in connection with three armed robberies in New Castle County earlier this month, police announced.
What we know:
Michael Reynolds was charged on Friday with eight felonies, including three counts each of robbery and possession of a deadly weapon during the commission of a felony, according to the Delaware State Police.
The first robbery happened on May 3, at a Shore Stop on South Old Baltimore Pike in Newark. According to police, Reynolds walked into the store around 8:15 p.m., armed with a knife and wearing a mask. He demanded money from the clerk, police said, then walked off.
SUGGESTED: Multiple shootings, robberies and stabbings reported overnight in Philadelphia
The next robbery happened less than 24 hours later. Around 7:30 p.m. Reynolds is accused of doing the same thing at a Shell gas station on New Castle Avenue in New Castle. Police say he walked in with a knife and demanded money from the cash register.
After this robbery, officers were able to identify the suspect’s car, a white Ford Taurus, and appeared to find it in Wilmington. Officers tried to chase the car, but the driver got away. Police found the car abandoned.
Reynolds was arrested shortly after that. Once in custody, police said they connected Reynolds to “additional incidents” New Castle County that are currently under investigation.
What we don’t know:
Police did not say what those other incidents were.
The Source: Information in this story is from the Delaware State Police Department.
-
Movie Reviews9 minutes agoReview | Paper Tiger: Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson lead dark gangster movie
-
World21 minutes ago
Stocks fall and oil prices gain after Trump warns the Iran ‘clock is ticking’
-
Lifestyle1 hour agoHow Tamara Rojo is remaking ballet
-
Technology1 hour agoMicrosoft is retiring Teams’ Together Mode
-
World1 hour agoCanada confirms hantavirus case linked to cruise ship outbreak that has killed three passengers
-
Politics2 hours agoTrump reads Bible as thousands pack National Mall for America 250 prayer rally
-
Health2 hours agoFrequent museum visits tied to reduced cellular aging, research finds
-
Sports2 hours agoIndy 500: Counting Down The 10 Best Finishes In Race History
