US Court Jails Ogoshi Brothers for 17 Years Over Sextortion

A United States court has sentenced two Nigerian siblings, Samuel Ogoshi, 24, and Samson Ogoshi, 21, to 17 years and six months in prison for their involvement in a sextortion scheme that led to the death of a 17-year-old high school student. In addition to their prison sentences, the brothers will also serve five years of supervised release.

The Ogoshi brothers, originally from Lagos, Nigeria, were extradited to the U.S. to face charges of conspiring to sexually exploit multiple minors. The U.S. Department of Justice announced the judgment on its official Facebook page on Thursday, revealing that their criminal activities tragically resulted in the death of Jordan DeMay, a 17-year-old male student from Michigan.

According to the U.S. Justice Department, the Ogoshi brothers exploited over 100 victims, including at least 11 minors, through their elaborate sextortion scheme. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland condemned the actions of the brothers, stating, “These defendants sexually exploited and extorted more than 100 victims, including at least 11 minors, resulting in the tragic death of a 17-year-old high school student.”

U.S. Attorney Mark Totten for the Western District of Michigan also responded to the judgment, warning that “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.”

The Justice Department’s statement detailed the methods used by the Ogoshi brothers in their scheme. They hacked social media accounts to create fake profiles and conducted extensive online research to gather information about their victims, such as their place of residence, schools, workplaces, and the identities of their family and friends. The brothers then solicited sexually explicit images from their minor victims. Once they obtained these images, they created collages that combined the explicit content with other personal photos of the victims, including images of their family, friends, and school.

The brothers would then threaten to distribute these collages to the victims’ family, friends, and classmates unless the victims paid them money via online cash applications.

The Ogoshi brothers were initially charged in November 2022 alongside another Nigerian national, Ezekiel Robert, for their roles in the sextortion scheme that led to DeMay’s death. While the Ogoshi brothers were extradited to the U.S. in August 2023 and subsequently pled guilty in April 2024, Robert’s extradition remains pending due to an appeal in his home country.

The case highlights the growing international cooperation among law enforcement agencies in combating cybercrimes and protecting vulnerable individuals from such predatory schemes.