US Sentences Two Men for Snap Hacking and Sextortion Schemes

A federal judge in Illinois sentenced Kyle Svara, 27, of Oswego, to 76 months in prison for a phishing operation that compromised the Snapchat accounts of hundreds of women, allowing him to download and trade nude images. The scheme, which ran from May 2020 to February 2021, involved fraudulent text messages that harvested verification codes, enabling unauthorized access to roughly 517 accounts. Svara also possessed child sexual‑abuse material and faced charges of aggravated identity theft, wire fraud, computer fraud, conspiracy and false statements.

In Pennsylvania, Afeez Olatunji Adewale, 27, a Nigerian national, received a five‑year prison term for his role in a sextortion plot that resulted in the death of a U.S. teenager. After being extradited from Nigeria, Adewale pleaded guilty to money‑laundering conspiracy and wire fraud linked to the extortion scheme. He was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Joel Slomsky to 60 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. Federal investigators highlighted the case as an example of cross‑border cooperation to combat online sexual exploitation.