Samuel and Samson Ogoshi, the Nigerian brothers implicated in a “sextortion” case that caused the suicide of one of their victims, were each sentenced to 17.5 years in prison in a Michigan federal court on Thursday, NBC News reported.
The brothers, who are in their 20s, were convicted after they both pleaded guilty to conspiring to sexually exploit teenage boys. Authorities said the convicted men’s criminal activities caused the suicide of Jordan DeMay, a 17-year-old Michigan student.
DeMay is said to have sent sexually explicit images to an individual he thought was a girl before he was ordered to pay $1,000 if he did not want those photos to be made public. The FBI’s field office in Michigan ultimately launched an investigation into the case after DeMay’s death.
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Authorities said Samuel and Samson used hacked Instagram accounts they bought to obtain explicit images from adult men and underage boys they had tricked into sending. They then ordered their victims to pay them as failure to do so would result in the images being sent to their friends and family.
The convicted brothers were extradited to the United States from Nigeria in August last year to face trial, NBC News reported. Authorities said a third defendant has filed an appeal against his extradition.
DeMay, a student-athlete at Marquette Senior High School, is said to have sent the Ogoshi brothers a message to inform them that he was going to take his own life due to his inability to pay the $1000.
“Good,” the brothers replied him, one of the excerpts in the indictment showed. “Do that fast…Or I’ll make you do it…I swear to God,” said the message.
DeMay’s parents said their son shot and killed himself about six hours after the brothers threatened to make the sexually explicit photos public if he failed to pay them. The deceased teen’s mother, Jennifer Buta, told the news outlet that she has since taken it upon herself to publicize her son’s story as she hopes it “will save another child’s life.”
“Financial sextortion is the fastest growing crime amongst our teenagers and change will happen when someone is held accountable for what’s happening to these kids,” Buta said.
“Financial sextortion is a rising and very serious threat targeting our minors nationwide and this case shook the very core of our Michigan community,” Cheyvoryea Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Michigan, said after the brothers pleaded guilty in August. “We encourage the public to have open and honest conversations with their loved ones surrounding sextortion and to take heed of the warning signs.”
