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Samuel Ogoshi, 22, left, and Samson Ogoshi, 20
Two Nigerian brothers were sentenced Thursday to 17 1/2 years in prison for their involvement in an online sextortion scheme that resulted in the suicide of a 17-year-old high school student in the Upper Peninsula.
Samuel Ogoshi, 24, and Samson Ogoshi, 21, both of Lagos, Nigeria, were sentenced in federal court in Marquette for conspracy to sexually exploit minors. Authorites found their scheme resulted in the death of Jordan DeMay, 17, of Marquette in March 2022. The sextortion scheme targeted more than 100 other victims. At least 11 were identified as minors.
In March 2022, Jordan DeMay, 17, of Marquette, was contacted by Nigerian men posing as a female on Instagram.
Federal authorites say they convinced DeMay to send nude pictures of himself, then blackmailed him for money, threatening to send those photos to people he knew.
DeMay sent $300, but the men continued to pressure him for more. He ended up killing himself at his home.
In November 2022, federal authorities charged three Nigerian nationals in the sextortion scheme that resulted in the death of DeMay.
Jordan DeMay (Facebook)
Two of the three Nigerian defendants, the Ogoshi brothers, were extradited to the United States in August 2023 and pled guilty in April 2024.
“Today’s sentencing of Samuel and Samson Ogoshi sends a thundering message,” said Grand Rapids U.S. Attorney Mark Totten in a statement. “To criminals who commit these schemes: you are not immune from justice. We will track you down and hold you accountable, even if we have to go half-way around the world to do so.
In August, federal authoritties announced charges against five men from Georgia and Alabama for allegedly laundering money for the Nigerian sextortion scheme.
Under the scheme, the Nigerians conducted online researches about their victims to learn where they lived, attended school, worked, and the identities of their family and friends, authorities said. They then solicited their victims to produce sexually explicit images of themselves.
They then extorted money and directed people to send funds through various cash applications controlled by the U.S. money launderers
The U.S. launders would keep a portion of the victims’ funds – typically 20 percent – and then convert the rest into bitcoin, authorities said.. The launderers would then send the bitcoin to an unindicted Nigerian co-conspirator known as “The Plug.”
The Plug would keep a portion of the bitcoin funds and send the remainder to Samuel Ogoshi, Samson Ogoshi, Ezekiel Robert, and other sextortionists, authorities charged.
The indictment alleges that the U.S.-based defendants laundered at least $178,658 in funds in the sextortion scheme.
“These defendants sexually exploited and extorted more than 100 victims, including at least eleven minors, resulting in the tragic death of a 17- year-old high school student,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland in a statement. “These sentences should serve as a warning that the perpetrators of online sexual exploitation and extortion cannot escape accountability for their heinous crimes by hiding behind their phones and computers.”
