Two Nigerian men charged as part of a sextortion ring that led to the suicide of a Michigan teenager arrived in the United States on Sunday to face charges.
US Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Mark Totten announced the extradition of Samuel Ogoshi, 22, and Samson Ogoshi, 20, at a press conference at Grand Rapids’ Gerald Ford International Airport, where they arrived Sunday morning.
“On May 3rd of this year, I announced that our office had filed an indictment against these two defendants plus an additional defendant, Ezekial Robert aged 19, also a Nigerian national,” Totten said. “The extradition proceedings are underway as to this third defendant, and we are optimistic that he will be extradited as well.”
Totten said that the ring targeted more than 100 victims, both adults and minors, and specifically mentioned 17-year-old Jordan DeMay, the Marquette teen who committed suicide when he was targeted.
“Under standard practice, we do mention the names of victims in our public comments, but I do so today at the request of his family,” Totten said.
The Ogoshis are expected in federal court on Monday, and all three men will be charged with conspiracy to sexually exploit minor, conspiracy to distribute child pornography, and conspiracy to commit stalking through the internet. Samuel Ogoshi is also charged with sexual exploitation and attempted sexual exploitation resulting in death.
Totten said that Samuel Ogoshi is alleged to have communicated with Jordan DeMay, 17, using a fake Instagram account in the name of @dani.robertt, which used a photograph of a young girl. As CrimeOnline previously reported, investigators believe DeMay was extorted over a nude photograph he had taken of himself and sent to the fake account. The perpetrator demanded money to keep the photograph private, and when DeMay paid them, they wanted more.
“A few hours later, Jordan told Samuel Ogoshi that he was now taking his life, and Samuel Ogoshi responded … ‘do that fast or I’ll make you do it,'” Totten said at the news conference on Sunday.
Devin Kowalski, the acting special agent in charge of FBI Michigan, said that charging and extraditing suspects in such cases is rare.
“Less than a week after Jordan’s tragic death, agents and professional staff across FBI Michigan began working tirelessly to find answers for the family,” he said. ” … This was a multi-faceted investigation. It involved identifying hundreds of victims, following the digital footprints left behind by these ‘sextortionists’ on the internet, tracking the payments made by victims through multiple financial entities, and working with our overseas office in Nigeria and our Nigerian counterparts.
Three other Nigerian men were arrested by Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for their alleged role in the same ring. They will be going through Nigeria’s criminal justice system, the US Attorney’s Office said earlier this year.
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[Featured image: Jessica, Jordan, and John DeMay/GoFundMe]
