Jordan DeMay (Photo courtesy of DeMay Family)
(WTAQ-WLUK) — Two Nigerian men were sentenced Thursday for sexually extorting more than 100 young men and teenage boys across the U.S., including a U.P. teen.
Brothers Samuel and Samson Ogoshi pleaded guilty in federal court earlier this year to one count of conspiracy to sexually exploit minors by causing the minors to produce child pornographic images that the defendants then used to blackmail the minors.
The charge carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison.
They were each sentenced to 17.5 years in federal prison.
U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Mark Totten says he’s seeing an increase in this type of crime.
He says the Ogoshis sentencing matters for two reasons: It sends a strong message to criminals who operate these types of schemes that the U.S. will hold them accountable, even if they’re operating outside U.S. borders. It also serves as a reminder for parents and kids to exercise caution when chatting with others online and through social media.
One of the Ogoshi brothers’ victims was 17-year-old high school student Jordan DeMay of Marquette, Michigan.
Authorities say just hours before DeMay’s suicide on March 25, 2022, DeMay was being extorted through Instagram over pictures that he had taken of himself and was pressured by one of the men to pay money in exchange for the pictures not being sent to his family and Instagram followers. Officials say DeMay sent $300, but the pictures were sent anyway.
In addition, five U.S. citizens are charged with conspiring to commit money laundering that facilitated the sextortion scheme.
Investigators say the five charged received more than $178,000 from sextortion victims, which included money from DeMay.
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