Teen's suicide linked to Nigerian scammers targeting Michigan football player.

This narrative explores the topic of suicide. In case you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts, kindly contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

On Thursday, a Michigan judge sentenced Nigerian brothers Samuel and Samson Ogoshi to 17½ years in prison for their roles in a sextortion scheme that targeted 100 individuals and resulted in the suicide of a Michigan teenager named Jordan DeMay in 2022.

"According to John DeMay, Jordan's father, the case serves as a testament to what the country can achieve and provides validity to what is truly happening to young people online. The most crucial aspect of the sentence is that it demonstrates the reality of sextortion. This case concludes the puzzle, indicating that the claim is legitimate."

For the first time in U.S. history, Nigerian sextortion scammers have been extradited to the United States and sentenced to prison, as confirmed by the FBI to Planet Chronicle Digital.

"Samuel and Samson Ogoshi were sentenced today, sending a powerful message to criminals who engage in such schemes, according to U.S. Attorney Mark Totten for the Western District of Michigan. The message is clear: You are not immune from justice, and we will track you down and hold you accountable, even if it means traveling halfway around the world. The days of committing such crimes, reaping the benefits, destroying lives, and evading justice are over."

The FBI reports that sextortion is a growing crime trend on social media, where perpetrators manipulate victims, often minors, into performing sexual acts or paying blackmail money.

"Please be cautious with cellphone usage," Totten urged parents, teenagers, and all cellphone users.

"These devices can connect you to criminal networks around the world." — U.S. Attorney Mark Totten for the Western District of Michigan

"Be cautious when assuming people's identities, avoid sharing compromising images, and if you're a victim, seek help. Law enforcement is ready to assist."

In March 2022, Samuel Ogoshi, 24, and Samson Ogoshi, 21, both from Lagos, Nigeria, posed as a woman on Instagram using a hacked account and blackmailed Jordan DeMay, who was 17 at the time, into sending money and threatening him until he took his own life.

On the same night that the Ogoshis began communicating with Jodan via Instagram, the teenager mistakenly sent an explicit photo to a female account.

Jordan was pressured to send money to Samuel Ogoshi after he threatened to expose their illegal activities online. However, Ogoshi's demands only grew, and he continued to extort the 17-year-old.

Ogoshi and Jordan's conversation lasted for hours one night until Jordan confessed he planned to take his own life.

"Do it quickly or I'll force you to do it. I swear to God."

Over 12,600 victims were targeted in more than 13,000 reports of online financial sextortion received by the FBI between October 2021 and March 2023.

The Justice Department stated that the group also targeted 100 victims, including at least 11 minors, in similar schemes.

The DOJ stated that both offenders, who admitted guilt for their offenses, bought the hacked social media accounts they used to impersonate young women on fake profiles, which they employed to deceive victims into believing the fake accounts were genuine.

In order to gather personal information about their targets, the group conducted extensive online research, including locating their homes, schools, workplaces, and identifying their family and friends.

The Ogoshi brothers would create a collage of the victim's sexually explicit photos and threaten to share them with the victim's families, friends, and schools unless the victim paid cash to stop them after the victim sent nude images.

Experts warn that sending cash to scammers will only lead to more demands and an endless cycle of threats, leaving victims feeling hopeless.

According to John DeMay, during negotiations between the U.S. and Nigerian governments to extradite the Ogoshi brothers, U.S. officials agreed to remove the death penalty as a possibility. As part of their plea agreements, the brothers also had their charges reduced.

"DeMay explained that when they go into the sentencing guidelines, which is a 15- to a 30-year sentence, they have already given them a ton of reprieve. They have already given them a ton of concessions. So, that's where I have a little bit of an issue with only 17 years, because they already knocked off 5 to 10 years on the lesser charge they already pulled off. They already pulled other charges off the top in the very beginning."

The Ogoshi brothers were portrayed as victims by defense attorneys, who claimed that terrorists had destroyed their home in Nigeria when they were young. Additionally, it was stated that they were under the influence of drugs while committing their sextortion offenses online, according to DeMay.

The Ogoshis' attorneys could not immediately be reached for comment.

Samuel and Samson Ogoshi, two sextortionists, have been sentenced, ensuring they will no longer harm minors in the US or globally, according to Special Agent in Charge Cheyvoryea Gibson of the FBI Detroit Field Office.

"The FBI in Michigan prioritizes spreading awareness on sextortion. We express our sympathy to the loved ones of Jordan DeMay and those affected by the criminal actions of these individuals."

According to the FBI, the average age of sextortion victims is between 14 and 17 years old, but the agency emphasized that any child can fall victim to this crime.

Sextortion offenders who are motivated by financial gain are most commonly from African and Southeast Asian countries, according to the FBI. There was a 20% increase in sextortion incidents involving minors between October 2022 and March 2023, the FBI reported.

Self-harm and suicide can result from sextortion. During the period from October 2021 to March 2023, the majority of online financial extortion victims were boys. The FBI reported at least 20 suicides related to these incidents.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has launched a free service, "Take it Down," to assist victims of sextortion in removing explicit images of them online or stopping bad actors from sharing them. This tool can be accessed at https://takeitdown.ncmec.org.