Shocking new details have been revealed about how a teenage boy was driven to suicide by two brothers in Nigeria.
The duo were sentenced to 17½ years in federal prison after pleading guilty to sexually extorting teenage boys and young men across the U.S., including 17-year-old Jordan DeMay of Michigan, who committed suicide.
A federal judge sentenced Samuel Ogoshi, 24, and Samson Ogoshi, 21, after hearing how Jordan committed suicide in his family’s Marquette home in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
The Ogoshis, both from Lagos, Nigeria, had previously been extradited from Nigeria to face trial. The brothers pleaded guilty in April to conspiracy to sexually exploit teenage boys.
They were accused of running an international sextortion ring, posing as women, a scheme that resulted in Jordan’s suicide in March 2022.
Shocking new details have been revealed about how 17-year-old Jordan DeMay from Michigan was driven to suicide by two brothers from Nigeria
Samuel Ogoshi (left), 22, and his younger brother Samson Ogoshi (right), 20, of Lagos, were sentenced to 17½ years in federal prison after pleading guilty to sexually extorting teenage boys and young men in the U.S.
The siblings were accused of coercing Jordan into sending a nude photo of himself and then blackmailing him.
Under the name Dani Robertts, posing as a woman, the brothers wrote to Jordan: “I have screenshotted all of your followers and tags. I can send these nudes to anyone and also send your own nudes to your family and friends. Until it goes viral… All you have to do is cooperate with me and I will not expose you.
“Will you work with me?” the message read. “Just pay me now. [Just pay me right now] And I will not betray you.’
When Jordan asked “how much?” he was told he had to pay $1,000.
After Jordan paid $300, Samuel Ogoshi continued to threaten him.
“Goodbye,” Ogoshi wrote. “Enjoy your miserable life.”
Jordan responded with a devastating message.
‘I am kms now [I’m kill myself right now] For you [Because of you].
“Good,” Ogoshi wrote back.
“Do it fast. Or I’ll make you do it. I swear to God.”
“I’ll make you regret your life,” the con man continued. “I’ll make you commit suicide. I promise you, I swear.”
Shortly after, Jordan shot himself in the head.
Jordan DeMay, 17, a high school senior from Marquette, Michigan, was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in March 2022 after the Nigerian men posed as a woman online and forced him to send explicit photos of themselves.
Jordan DeMay, a star basketball and football player, pictured with his mother Jennifer Buta
The insensitive messages between the Ogoshi brothers and their victims, including Jordan May
The perverted brothers researched their victims to find out where they lived, went to school and worked, and to discover the identities of their family and friends.
Once they had the information, the brothers went after their targets and managed to trick the underage victims into taking and sending sexually explicit images of themselves.
“Once they received the images, they created a collage of photos. The sexually explicit image was combined with other photos of the victim and his/her school, family and friends,” prosecutors said.
‘The Ogoshi brothers threatened to release the collages to the victim’s family, friends and classmates unless the victim agreed to pay through online money apps.’
Federal prosecutors say their sextortion scheme targeted more than 100 victims, including Jordan.
“The conviction of Samuel and Samson Ogoshi sends a strong message,” U.S. Attorney Mark Totten said in a statement.
“To the criminals who perpetrate these plans: You are not immune from justice. We will hunt you down and hold you accountable, even if it takes us halfway around the world.”
Sexual extortion, or sextortion, involves persuading someone to post explicit photos online and then threatening to make the images public if the victim does not pay or provide sexual favors.
The offense carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum sentence of 30 years.
U.S. District Judge Robert J. Jonker, who also sentenced the Ogoshis to five years of post-release supervision, said he will decide how much restitution the brothers must pay once he receives more information.
Before sentencing the brothers, Jonker said the case called for long sentences.
The brothers tricked DeMay into sending nude photos, demanding $1,000 or threatening to share them with friends and family. He was only able to pay $300 and then committed suicide
Jordan DeMay was dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. His last message to the scammers was: ‘I’m killing myself right now. Because of you’
He said both suspects had shown “a callous disregard for life,” noting that the siblings continued their sextortion practices even after they learned that Jordan had committed suicide.
“The continuation of the entire plan, even after it was certain that one person, the person in this case, had committed suicide, indicates that a severe sentence is necessary,” the judge said during the sentencing hearing for Samson Ogoshi.
Jordan’s mother, Jennifer Buta, gave an emotional testimonial as she told the court during Samuel Ogoshi’s sentencing that her son’s death had left her “broken to the core, angry and trapped in grief.”
She said the last text her son sent her was, “Mom, I love you.” When she woke up, she thought it was cute, until she discovered Jordan had committed suicide in his bedroom.
“What I found to be a touching message from Jordan was his farewell and his affirmation of his love for me,” Buta said.
“I never imagined that while I was sleeping, the two suspects were hiding behind their screens and torturing Jordan for hours while he was alone.”
Jordan DeMay’s stepmother, Jessica DeMay, said during her tearful testimony that she and Jordan’s other family members “will never experience pure joy again” because every happy moment would be tainted by “a little cloud of sadness around it” that comes from Jordan’s death.
The teen’s father, John DeMay, told the court he is haunted by the image of “my son lying dead in his bed with a gunshot wound to his head.”
“Jordan was a great young man. He was resilient, he was smart, he was educated, he was an athlete. He was my only son. And you got to talk to him for the last time in his life. I think that’s horrible,” he said.
Jordan’s family described him as “the perfect mix of cheerful and hardworking.”
“Jordan’s smile could light up a room. Jordan’s charm and beautiful smile were infectious, drawing people in wherever he went and leaving a lasting impression on everyone he met. He wanted to connect and be everyone’s friend and he did just that.”
Samuel Ogoshi’s attorney, Sean Tilton, said his client has cooperated with authorities and written a letter of apology.
He said Samuel Ogoshi is remorseful and “feels immense guilt over the loss of life in this case.”
Marquette Senior High School, where DeMay attended, paid tribute by writing “We love you Jordan” on its site
Samson Ogoshi’s lawyer, Julia Kelly, said during the sentencing that her client was “very remorseful” and that he was 18 when he began taking part in extortion and fraud schemes.
She said that these types of scams are common in Lagos, Nigeria, and that he saw them as a quick way to make money.
Kelly wrote in a court document that “hundreds of people just like him were involved in similar scams.”
“He was told who could provide him with a hacked account, how to create a fake profile, how to boost accounts and, because English is not his native language, he was given a script on what to say,” she wrote.
For confidential help, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.
