Bangladeshi man faces federal charges in Alaska over sextortion of hundreds of teens

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The FBI flew a Bangladeshi man to Anchorage on Thursday to face federal charges that he used social media to coerce hundreds of teenage girls into sending him sexually explicit images, threatening to distribute the material to their families and friends if they refused or tried to stop contact. Zobaidul Amin, 28, pleaded not guilty before a federal magistrate, who ordered him held in custody while the case proceeds.

The case illustrates the reach of U.S. law enforcement against overseas offenders targeting American minors online — the result of a years-long effort after formal extradition from Malaysia failed and American officials succeeded in having Amin expelled from the country instead.

Charges and alleged conduct

A federal grand jury indicted Amin in 2022 on charges of child pornography, cyberstalking, and wire fraud. According to a detention memorandum filed by U.S. prosecutors, Amin adopted false identities — often posing as a teenager — to deceive victims into sending him explicit images. He then threatened to share the material with their contacts unless they sent more images or recruited additional victims.

“Amin delighted in sexually abusing hundreds of minor victims over social media,” the detention memorandum said. “He bragged about causing victims to become suicidal and engage in self-harm. He shared hundreds of nude images and videos of minor victims all over the internet and encouraged other perpetrators to do the same.”

U.S. Magistrate Judge Kyle Reardon ordered Amin to remain in custody Thursday while his case proceeds.

How the investigation began

The investigation started after a 14-year-old girl in Alaska reported her abuse to law enforcement. She told investigators that after she stopped communicating with Amin, he followed through on his threats by sending her images to her friends and followers. Investigators executing dozens of search warrants and subpoenas eventually identified Amin and determined he had carried out similar schemes against hundreds of minors, prosecutors said.

Amin told girls the only way to stop his demands for more images was to recruit new victims, according to the detention memorandum.

Pursuit across borders

Because Amin was based in Malaysia while his victims were primarily in the United States, he believed himself beyond the reach of American law enforcement. Prosecutors cited a communication he sent to a victim: “The cops won’t do anything,” he said, according to the detention memorandum, adding that “cops won’t track me down because I live no where near u.”

Formal extradition efforts failed. With FBI assistance, however, Malaysian authorities brought related charges against Amin. He was released on bail during proceedings in Malaysia, but U.S. officials ultimately succeeded in having him expelled. The FBI then took him into custody in Kuala Lumpur and flew him to Alaska.

Amin had been studying medicine in Malaysia at the time of his apprehension, the Justice Department said.

“The FBI’s commitment to protecting our children from exploitation doesn’t change whether an offender is here in the United States or overseas,” FBI Director Kash Patel said in a news release.