A pair of Nigerian brothers pleaded guilty to conspiring to sexually exploit American minors after a 17-year-old Michigan boy committed suicide as a result of their online sextortion scheme.
Samuel Ogoshi, 22, and Samson Ogoshi, 20, were both extradited from Lagos to the U.S. in August 2023 after being connected to the death of Jordan DeMay, who shot himself in March 2022 after being tricked into sending explicit photos of himself, NBC News reported.
Using a catfish Instagram account by the name of “@dani.robertts,” officials said the brothers, along with a third suspect, pretended to be a girl who seemed interested in DeMay until he sent the pictures.
The Nigerian scammers then demanded $1,000 with the threat of releasing the images.
“I can send this [sic] nudes to everyone and also send your nudes Until it goes viral,” Samuel messaged the Marquette, MI, teen, according to the New York Post.
DeMay only paid $300, to which Samuel replied with more threats of sending the underage pornographic material to the high schooler’s family and friends.
The student was later found dead in his home of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on March 25, 2022, the outlet reported.
While the Ogoshis were successfully brought to Michigan to face justice, the third alleged scammer, Ezekiel Robert, has filed an appeal against his extradition and remains in Nigeria.
On Wednesday, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Mark Totten announced that the brothers “each pleaded guilty to conspiring to sexually exploit teenage boys,” a press release stated.
The offense comes with a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison with a maximum penalty of 30 years.
The criminal pair were first hit with additional charges of conspiracy to distribute child porn and conspiracy to commit stalking over the internet in connection to “dozens” of other cases around the U.S., but those were dropped in exchange for their guilty plea, according to the Post.
“Today’s guilty pleas represent an extraordinary success in the prosecution of international sextortion,” said Totten. “These convictions will send a message to criminals in Nigeria and every corner of the globe: working with our partners both here and overseas, we can find you and we can bring you to justice.”
He continued: “I hope these guilty pleas also bring a small measure of relief to the family of Jordan DeMay, who died as a result of this crime. Of course, the job is not done. The Ogoshi brothers await sentencing later this year, and we are still pursuing the extradition of the third defendant, Ezekiel Robert.”
The district attorney’s office noted that the investigation was a collaborative effort between the FBI, the Marquette Sheriff’s Department, the Michigan State Police Cybercrimes Unit, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs, the U.S. Department of State, as well as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission of Nigeria and the Nigerian Attorney General’s Office.
“Financial sextortion is a rising and very serious threat targeting our minors nationwide and this case shook the very core of our Michigan community,” said Michigan FBI Special Agent Cheyvoryea Gibson. “We encourage the public to have open and honest conversations with their loved ones surrounding sextortion and to take heed of the warning signs.”
The case against Robert is still pending.
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