Nigerian brothers sentenced to 17 years in prison for sextortion that led to Michigan teenager's death

Two brothers from Nigeria were sentenced Thursday to 17 1/2 years in a federal prison after pleading guilty to sexually extorting more than 100 young men and teenagers across the United States, including a Michigan high school student who committed suicide, prosecutors said.

Samuel Ogoshi, 24, and Samson Ogoshi, 21, pleaded guilty in April to conspiring to sexually exploit teenage boys and were later extradited from Nigeria to the United States, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Michigan said. They were accused of running an international sextortion ring in which they posed as young women and targeted more than 100 victims, including at least 11 minors.

Prosecutors said the Ogoshis ran their sextortion scheme from their home in Nigeria, where they purchased hacked social media accounts and used them to lure victims with fake profiles. The scheme resulted in the death of 17-year-old high school student Jordan DeMay in March 2022.

According to court records, DeMay died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in his Marquette, Michigan, home after being blackmailed by Samuel Ogoshi.

“To the criminals who commit these types of schemes, you are not immune from justice. We will track you down and hold you accountable, even if it means traveling halfway around the world,” U.S. Attorney Mark Totten said in a statement. “And to parents, teenagers, and anyone who uses a cell phone, please, please be careful. These devices can connect you to criminal networks around the world. Don't assume people are who they say they are. Don't share compromising images. And if you are a victim, please come forward.”

In recent years, there has been a sharp increase in the number of financial extortion scams. Scammers lurk on social media, posing as attractive women and persuading men to send nude photos or lewd videos. They then use the compromising images to blackmail the victim by threatening to post them on social media or send them to the victim's relatives in exchange for money.

A father lost his son through sextortion. He helped the FBI find the suspects.

The Ogoshi brothers created collages from personal photos of the victims

Prosecutors said the Ogoshis used their fake social media profiles to send messages to the victims. They researched the victims online to find out where they lived, worked, went to school and to find out the identities of the victims' families and friends.

The Ogoshis then solicited sexually explicit images from their underage victims and created a collage of photos that included the compromising image with other photos of the victim and his school, family and friends. The two brothers “threatened to show the collages to the victim's family, friends and classmates if the victim did not agree to pay money through online cash applications,” according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

The Ogoshis “used and shared scripts and ideas on how to extort money from the victims,” ​​court documents say. An excerpt from the script shows an example:

“Hey, I took screenshots of all your followers and tags and those who comment on your post. I can send these nudes to everyone and your nudes too until they go viral… All you have to do is cooperate with me and I will not expose you,” one lawsuit says.

Michigan teenager blackmailed for $1,000 with sexually explicit photo

The Ogoshis used an Instagram account under the username “dani.robertts,” according to court documents. On March 25, 2022, Samuel Ogoshi used the account to target DeMay.

According to court documents, Samuel Ogoshi asked DeMay for a sexually explicit image and then threatened to send the image to the teen's social media followers and family and friends unless he paid $1,000. After DeMay paid just $300, Samuel Ogoshi continued to threaten to send the compromising photo to DeMay's family and friends.

According to court records, DeMay then sent a message saying he was going to commit suicide. Excerpts from the message included in court records show Samuel Ogoshi responded with “Fine,” “Do that quickly,” and “Or I'll make you do it.”

According to prosecutors, Samson Ogoshi used the same Instagram account to target a 21-year-old from Warrens, Wisconsin.

Sextortion systems at international level

A report released in June by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the technology nonprofit Thorn found that these schemes often target teenage boys. The report also identified Nigeria as one of the countries most commonly associated with sextortion schemes.

Those involved in the schemes are also linked to large criminal networks or smaller coordinated networks. Reuters reported in July that Meta Platforms, owner and operator of Facebook and Instagram, had deleted about 63,000 accounts in Nigeria that attempted to participate in sextortion schemes primarily targeting adult men in the United States.

Federal authorities have warned that sextortion schemes pose a “growing threat to our nation’s teens.” From October 2021 to March 2023, the Federal Bureau of Investigations and Homeland Security Investigations received more than 13,000 reports of online financial sextortion of minors.

According to the FBI, at least 12,600 victims, mostly boys, were involved in these schemes and at least 20 suicides occurred.

If you or someone you know is or may be a victim of online sexual violence, including sextortion, organizations like the National Sexual Violence Resource Center are available to help survivors and their loved ones.. Visit NSVRC.org for help and support.

If you or someone you know needs mental health resources and support, please call or chat with the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline or visit 988lifeline.org for access to free and confidential services 24/7.

Contributors: Krystal Nurse and Natalie Neysa Alund, USA TODAY; Reuters

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Nigerian brothers sentenced to 17 years in prison for sextortion