Jordan DeMay: 3 men charged in Michigan sextortion plot that led to teen's suicide as one of them told him 'to do it fast'
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Hotline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
MARQUETTE, MICHIGAN: Three Nigerian men have been charged with extortion involving multiple young men and teenage boys from Michigan and around the nation, a little over a year after a teenager named Jordan DeMay died by suicide. Samuel Ogoshi, 22, Samson Ogoshi, 20, and Ezekial Ejehem Robert, 19, all from Lagos, Nigeria, are charged with sextortion, according to a federal indictment that was unsealed on May 3 by US Attorney Mike Totten.
Federal prosecutors claim they hacked social media profiles and used them to pose as young women in order to trick young men and teenagers into having sexual conversations with them. In DeMay's case, the scammers posed as a teenage girl on Instagram and convinced DeMay to send nude photographs.
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Who is Jordan DeMay? High school football star, 17, kills himself hours after sick SEXTORTION
'All you've to do is cooperate with me and I won't expose you'
After getting his photos they then threatened to leak the pictures to his friends and family if he didn't pay them $1000. "All you've to do is cooperate with me and I won't expose you," the feds claim Ogoshi wrote to DeMay. Threats persisted even after paying $300, the Daily Mail reported. The trio had gained access to the hacked Instagram account of a woman named Dani Roberts and from the same account, they made contact with DeMay.
'Do that fast or I'll make you do it'
DeMay even responded to the threats in one message writing, "I'm km rn (I am killing myself right now) Because of you." The scammer replied, "Good. Do that fast. Or I'll make you do it. I swear to God." Ogoshi is charged with sexual exploitation and attempted sexual exploitation of a juvenile ending in death for his alleged direct involvement in getting in touch with DeMay. For this, he may face life imprisonment.
These men engaged in the extortion of over 100 individuals
All three of them have been charged with conspiring to distribute child pornography, sexually exploiting minors, and engaging in online stalking. The offense carries up to 30 years in prison. US Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Mark Totten as per CBS News alleged that the three men engaged in this extortion of over 100 individuals. The three men are awaiting extradition to the United States for prosecution.
'They told him they had all of his Facebook contacts'
"They told him they had all of his Facebook contacts and more from other social media, as well as his nude photo," Marquette County Sheriff Greg Zyburt told The Sun. "Then they said they'd start to send the picture out. Jordan said he couldn't pay them any more money. "He said you win and that he was going to kill himself, and they said go for it," Sheriff Zyburt added.
DeMay was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on March 25, 2022. "As parents, we cannot begin to imagine what Jordan went through that night and how scared he was because of this senseless act," DeMay's mother, Jennifer Buta stated as per Daily Mail.
Zyburt detailed how DeMay killed himself six hours after the blackmailers first contacted him. "The Twitter profile showed a beautiful picture of a girl. Soon she sent Jordan a nude picture, then he sent a compromising picture back to her, then the conversation quickly changed, and it became a situation of blackmail."
Initially, the death was treated as "teenage suicide" but then police shifted the focus after one of the teenager's friends revealed the blackmailers had contacted her as well and demanded money. "She told them he killed himself. They said GOOD, then she hung up and called the police," Zyburt said.