South Carolina Couple Sentenced After Cruel Blackmail Scheme Against Disabled Man Ends in Tragedy

In September 2024, a South Carolina couple stole the phone of an intellectually disabled man and used it to send threatening messages to his family in an attempt to extort money. The man, 37-year-old Christopher Tsoulos, later died by suicide, which his family said was prompted by the alleged blackmail.

Now, about a year and a half later, Tsoulos’ family has seen the accused couple sentenced to prison. Trysten Anthony Cullon, 27, was sentenced to 41 months, while his partner, Jade Ashlynn Stone, 27, was sentenced to 27 months in prison.

Tsoulos worked as a greeter at a Chick-fil-A restaurant in Charlotte. According to the prosecutor, Assistant U.S. Attorney Caryn Finley, the victim’s mental abilities were limited to a fourth-grade reading level and a second-grade math level.

On September 5, 2024, Cullon visited Chick-fil-A in Charlotte and asked Tsoulos to lend him his phone for a few minutes. After Tsoulos handed over the phone, Cullon allegedly stole it and fled with Stone, who was waiting in a car.

Investigators said the couple used the unlocked phone to access payment apps and attempted to obtain money from Tsoulos’ bank accounts. When they failed, they began sending threatening texts to Tsoulos’ family members. The couple wrote that they would make false claims to harm the victim’s reputation if his family did not give them money.

“Unless you want me to ruin him and embarrass you, I suggest you provide some compensation. He will lose everything. The things I saw were disgusting and disturbing,” one of the text messages read. Authorities said the messages continued for three days.

Meanwhile, Tsoulos shot himself outside his home. His body was discovered by his father, John Tsoulos. Family members said because of his intellectual disability, Tsoulos could not understand that he had done nothing wrong. They said he feared going to prison and losing his job and that the emotional distress allegedly led him to take his own life.

Cullon and Stone were later arrested and charged with wire fraud conspiracy, conspiracy to commit extortion, and conspiracy to commit cyberstalking. Both defendants pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit cyberstalking in 2025. Their attorneys told the court the pair had been under the influence of drugs when they encountered Tsoulos and attempted to extort money from his family to buy more drugs.

On March 12, District Judge Max O. Cogburn Jr. sentenced both Cullon and Stone to prison. Stone received the shorter sentence because she had no prior criminal record. On the other hand, Cullon, had previously been arrested on armed robbery charges when he was a teenager.

The court also ordered the two to pay $26,699.65 in restitution. Additionally, they must serve three years of supervised release after completing their prison sentence. During the sentencing hearing, the couple apologized to Tsoulos’ family and read handwritten statements.

U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina Russ Ferguson said the courtroom became emotional as they remembered Tsoulos. He stated, “This case is heartbreaking. There was not a dry eye in the courtroom at sentencing. To fuel their drug addiction, Cullon and Stone turned to preying on the most vulnerable among us.”