Two Nigerian brothers, Samuel Ogoshi (24) and Samson Ogoshi (21), have been sentenced to 17 years and six months in a U.S. prison for their role in a sextortion scam that led to the suicide of a 17-year-old American boy, Jordan DeMay.
This case marks the first successful prosecution of Nigerian citizens for sextortion in the United States.
The Ogoshi brothers, hailing from Lagos, Nigeria, targeted Jordan DeMay, a popular high school student from Michigan, by pretending to be a young girl on Instagram.
After luring him into sending explicit photos of himself, they proceeded to blackmail him, threatening to share the images with his friends and family if he did not pay them.
Frightened and desperate, Jordan sent the scammers as much money as he could, but they were unrelenting.
The situation took a tragic turn when Jordan warned the brothers that he would end his life if they shared the photos.
Shockingly, the criminals responded, “Good… Do that fast – or I’ll make you do it.” Just hours after their conversation began, Jordan took his own life.
Jordan’s mother, Jenn Buta, gave a tearful statement in court, holding a picture of her son.
“I am shattered to my core,” she said. Though she expressed relief at the sentencing, she acknowledged that no outcome could ease the pain of her loss.
“I miss my son more than I can describe, but the mother of those men is probably missing her two sons now as well. She, too, is an innocent bystander of sextortion crime.”
The Ogoshi brothers pleaded guilty to charges of conspiring to sexually exploit teenage boys across the U.S., with a particular focus on Michigan.
According to U.S. authorities, 38 victims were identified in the brothers’ operation, 13 of whom were minors.
After a thorough investigation, the brothers were tracked down to Lagos last year and extradited to face justice in the United States.
This case shines a light on the growing threat of sextortion, a cybercrime in which victims are tricked into sharing explicit content, only to be blackmailed afterward.
Sextortion has become a rising issue in the U.S. and globally, often with roots in Nigeria, where cybercrime has been growing among tech-savvy youth.
Judge Paul Maloney, who presided over the case, did not hold back in condemning the Ogoshi brothers’ actions, calling them a “callous disregard for life.”
The judge further pointed out that even after learning of Jordan’s death, the brothers continued to target other victims.
Both brothers apologized to Jordan’s family in court.
Samson Ogoshi said, “I’m sorry to the family. We made a bad decision to make money, and I wish I could change that.”
Jordan’s case is not isolated. In recent years, several other tragedies have been linked to Nigerian sextortionists.
In April 2024, two Nigerian men were arrested after a schoolboy from Australia took his own life under similar circumstances. Additionally, two other men are currently on trial in Lagos for involvement in the suicides of teenage boys from the U.S. and Canada.
Nigerian police have been working with international law enforcement agencies to tackle this growing threat.
