Nigerian men to face US justice in sextortionscheme that caused a suicide of a teenager. Two Nigerian men were extradited to the United States on charges that they ran an international sextortion ring that was responsible for the death of a young boy from Michigan.
Samuel Ogoshi, 22, Samson Ogoshi, 20, and Ezekial Ejehem Robert, 19, of Lagos, Nigeria, allegedly purchased hacked social media accounts, posed as young women to lure teenagers and young adult men into sexual chats containing explicit images and videos, and threatened to release them unless they paid a ransom.
3 Nigerians charged after Michigan teen dies by suicide while being blackmailed with nude photo
According to prosecutors, Jordan DeMay, 17, was one of at least 100 American victims. He received a message from a username "dani.robertts" that said:
“„All you've to do is cooperate with me and I won't expose you.- Samuel Ogoshi
The next day DeMay shot himself.
Samuel Ogoshi is accused of sending the texts to DeMay and has been charged with his death. If he is found guilty, he will have to serve a minimum of 30 years and a maximum of life in federal prison for the crime.
In a statement:
“„Sextortion is a horrible crime. To those who commit these crimes: we will pursue you around the world. And to those who are victims: please know we stand ready to help you.- Mark Totten, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan
The alleged strategy of Samuel Ogoshi, Samson Ogoshi, and Robert was described in full in the indictment brought against them in May 2023. This scam is one illustration of a fast developing criminal tendency that has been fostered by artificial intelligence.
The FBI reports that the number of cases of sextortion surged by 322% between February 2022 and February 2023. The FBI also reported not too long ago that there has been an extra considerable increase since April.
Although sextortion has been around for some time, the number of reported incidents has skyrocketed since the outbreak. The FBI observed a 463% rise in the number of sextortion instances reported between 2021 and 2022. The FBI also stated that open-source artificial technology tools have made it easier for predators to carry out the sextortion procedure.
The federal indictment against Samuel and Samson Ogoshi was submitted to a court in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and the Ogoshi brothers are anticipated to make an appearance there on Monday afternoon.
Both were accused with participating in a conspiracy to disseminate child pornography as well as engaging in a plot to sexually exploit youngsters. The extra accusations that Samuel is facing are for the sexual exploitation of a juvenile and the attempted sexual exploitation of a minor that resulted in the death of the victim.
Prosecutors stated the extradition of the third defendant, Robert, is still pending.
“„My son was smart. He was a good student. He was a great athlete. Someone came to his bedroom at 3 in the morning and murdered him through Instagram when we were all sleeping at night, and we had zero chance to stop it.- John DeMay, Jordan's father
Sextortion, according to the FBI, is a crime that "involves coercing victims into providing sexually explicit photos or videos of themselves, and then threatening to share them publicly or with the victim's family and friends." The FBI stated in a June public service announcement that most of these crimes are financially motivated rather than sexually motivated.
Final Words
According to the FBI, predators who are usually in another nation weaponize sexually explicit pictures that they have either misled victims into providing or utilized artificial intelligence to modify benign images of children to force money from them or their families.
The majority of victims are men between the ages of 10 and 17, while victims as young as 7 have been reported. Girls have also been targeted, but data suggest that boys have been affected in greater numbers.