Judge: 17-year sentence for Nigerian brothers in sextortion scheme sends message around the world

MARQUETTE, Mich. (WJMN) – Two men were sentenced on Thursday inside Marquette’s federal courthouse, two years after their actions led to the death of Marquette teenager Jordan DeMay.

Samuel and Samson Ogoshi pled guilty in April to online sextortion charges. Originally, they were charged with four counts related to a blackmail scheme in which they used hacked social media accounts to pose as someone else, gather compromising photos from their target, and then threaten to distribute them if the victim didn’t pay.

In the case of Jordan DeMay, their actions resulted in DeMay dying by suicide.

The Ogoshi brothers reached a plea deal, which took the number of charges from four to one. The crime still carries a 15-year minimum sentence and the understanding that the Ogoshis will cooperate with prosecutors as they continue efforts to extradite a third suspect, Ezekiel Robert.

As the investigation continued, in August of 2024 five people in the United States were arrested in a money laundering scheme tied to the sextortion investigation.

On Thursday, a judge handed down the sentence of 210 months in prison to Samuel Ogoshi and 210 months to Sampson Ogoshi.

During the sentencing hearing, impact statements were given by Jordan Demay’s mother, father, and step-mother.

In his sentencing remarks, US District Court Judge Robert Jonker said while family and law enforcement officials called for the maximum 30-year sentence, he decided on a lesser punishment due to the crime being closer to a classic extortion case as opposed to the Conspiracy to Sexually Exploit a Minor charge they pled guilty to.

Despite 17.5 years resting on the low end of the guidelines, Judge Jonker said he thought it was still a significant enough amount of time to deter other would-be criminals—something that Samson Ogoshi’s lawyer said has already happened as a result of their extradition.

Since DeMay’s death, lawmakers have been taking action to prevent future tragedies from happening. The package of bills aims to combat online sextortion targeting minors and vulnerable individuals.

We will update this story with additional details from Thursday’s sentencing shortly and a news conference with U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan, Mark Totten throughout the day.

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