A couple extradited from the Dominican Republic to Puerto Rico faces federal charges for allegedly running an online sexual extortion scheme that used intimate photos and videos to demand money from victims under threat of publishing the content, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a statement. The defendants are Patricia Joanna Almonte Frías and her partner, Rineldys Feliciano Díaz Cuevas.
They were arrested in the Dominican Republic on August 19, 2026, at the request of U.S. authorities and extradited to Puerto Rico on September 30. U.S. Attorney Héctor Ramírez Carbó said they first appeared in court on October 1 before federal judge Marcos E. López. The indictment alleges they operated the scheme from the Dominican Republic, using Facebook, WhatsApp and other social media to find victims.
Almonte Frías allegedly used her own image to persuade victims in Puerto Rico to share sexually explicit photos and videos, which were secretly recorded. Díaz Cuevas and alleged accomplices then demanded money in exchange for not sending the images to the victims’ relatives and friends. In some cases, the defendants allegedly created photo montages combining victims’ sexual images with photos of minors, to falsely suggest the victims had sexual relations with minors.
Some victims paid and even emptied their bank accounts, but the defendants allegedly still distributed the images to their online contacts. Both face one count of conspiracy to commit cyberstalking and send interstate threats, punishable by up to five years in prison. The FBI in San Juan investigated; its special agent in charge, Carlos R. Goris, urged people to report suspected extortion.