Two Nigerian brothers have entered guilty pleas in a harrowing case of sexual extortion that culminated in the suicide of a Michigan teen, federal officials announced. Samuel Ogoshi, 22, and Samson Ogoshi, 20, both from Lagos, admitted to conspiring to exploit teenage boys and young men across the United States, which includes luring one victim - 17-year-old Jordan DeMay from Marquette, Michigan - into sending an explicit photo and subsequently extorting him.
U.S. Attorney Mark Totten revealed the brothers are facing a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison and could be sentenced to up to 30 years behind bars, as reported by AP News. The offenses were part of an international sextortion ring, whereby the Ogoshi brothers posed as women, to deceive their victims into sending compromising images of themselves. Upon obtaining these images, the brothers then threatened to make them public unless they received payment. "These convictions will send a message to criminals in Nigeria and every corner of the globe ... we can find you and we can bring you to justice,” Totten stated.
The case continues to unravel the dark reality of sextortion, a rising threat, especially to minors. Special Agent in Charge Cheyvoryea Gibson of the FBI Detroit Field Office spoke about the need for openness and caution, encouraging the public to engage in conversations about sextortion and to recognize the warning signs, FOX 2 Detroit reported. The plea of the brothers was a breakthrough in the fight against such international crimes and offered some solace to the victim's family, who has since emphasized the importance of awareness and discourse on sextortion.
The guilt-stricken family of DeMay has publicly shared their tragedy in the hopes of raising awareness about the devastating consequences of sextortion. "We wanted everyone to be aware about sextortion and have those tough conversations with their families so if it did happen to them they knew to talk to someone," DeMay's mother, Jennifer Buta, said in a statement released through MLive. The judicial process brought the brothers from Nigeria to the U.S. for prosecution, with a grand jury indicting them in November 2022 and their subsequent extradition following in August 2023.
While the Ogoshi brothers await sentencing, efforts continue to extradite the third accused, Ezekiel Robert, with an ongoing legal battle in Nigeria. The collaborative efforts of the FBI, Marquette Sheriff’s Department, Michigan State Police Cybercrimes Unit in Marquette, and Nigerian authorities were paramount in bringing the culprits before U.S. justice. The FBI encourages anyone who believes they or someone they know has become a victim of extortion to reach out by calling 1-800-CALL-FBI or submitting a tip through their website.
