A United States court has sentenced two Nigerian brothers, Samuel Ogoshi, 24, and Samson Ogoshi, 21, to 17 years and six months in prison for conspiring to sexually exploit multiple minors in a sextortion scheme that resulted in the death of a 17-year-old high school student, Jordan DeMay, from Michigan.
In addition to their prison sentences, the siblings will also undergo five years of supervised release.
The brothers, who were extradited from Lagos, Nigeria, were accused of exploiting more than 100 victims, including at least 11 minors, by using hacked social media accounts to create fake profiles.
The U.S. Justice Department announced the judgment on Thursday, emphasizing the severity of their actions and the tragic impact on DeMay.
U.S. Attorney Mark Totten for the Western District of Michigan warned similar criminals: “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 halfway around the world to do so.”
According to court documents, the Ogoshi brothers conducted online research to learn personal details about their victims, including their schools, workplaces, and family and friends. They then solicited the victims, many of whom were minors, to produce sexually explicit images. Once they received the images, they created collages combining explicit photos with other pictures of the victims’ social circles and threatened to release the images unless the victims paid money via online cash applications.
The Ogoshi brothers were initially charged in November 2022 alongside a third Nigerian national, Ezekiel Robert, who is also implicated in the sextortion scheme.
While the brothers pled guilty in April following their extradition in August 2023, Robert’s extradition remains pending due to an appeal in Nigeria.
The case highlights the growing danger of sextortion schemes and serves as a warning about the severe legal consequences of such criminal activities.
