By Emmanuel Nduka
Two brothers from Nigeria have pleaded not guilty to federal charges accusing them of running an international sextortion ring connected to the suicide death of a Michigan teen.
Samuel Ogoshi and Samson Ogoshi pleaded not guilty on Thursday, Aug. 18, to single counts of conspiracy to sexually exploit minors, conspiracy to distribute child pornography and conspiracy to commit stalking through the internet during their arraignment.
Samuel Ogoshi faces an additional charge of sexual exploitation of a minor resulting in death, which is punishable by up to death. He pleaded not guilty to that charge as well.
Federal prosecutors have said they won’t pursue the death penalty against Samuel Ogoshi.
“Today’s hearing is another step forward in the judicial process following the successful extradition of the Ogoshi brothers from Nigeria to the United States on last Sunday,” U.S. Attorney Mark Totten said in a Thursday news release.
“My office is fully prepared to present the facts of the case during a fair trial.”
The Thursday arraignment took place at the Gerald R. Ford Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in downtown Grand Rapids.
Federal prosecutors have said they are hopeful a third co-defendant charged for his role in the scheme – 19-year-old Ezekiel Robert – will also be extradited from Nigeria.
Samuel Ogoshi, 22, Samson Ogoshi, 20, and Robert are accused of sexually extorting numerous young men and teenage boys throughout West Michigan and across the United States by posing as a woman online and getting their victim to send nude photos of themselves.
Once the trio allegedly got nude photos of their victims, they would blackmail the person, threatening to release the photos to friends and family unless they paid a certain amount.
The scheme is commonly called “sextortion.”
Federal officials allege the three defendants bought multiple hacked social media accounts to exploit young men from February 2021 through May 2022.
One of the victims was 17-year-old Jordan DeMay of Marquette.
Federal prosecutors say Samuel Ogoshi, posing as a woman online, messaged the teen on March 25, 2022, and convinced him to send a sexually explicit photo of himself.
Samuel Ogoshi then allegedly threatened to share the photo with the teen’s friends and family unless DeMay sent $1,000.
DeMay sent Samuel Ogoshi what he had – $300. In return, DeMay received a message that said, “Enjoy your miserable life.” The teen replied that he was going to kill himself because of the scammer.
Samuel Ogoshi then allegedly said to the teen, “Good… do that fast… or I’ll make you do it.”
DeMay who died by suicide on March 25, 2022, was one of 3,000 minors, primarily boys, who were targeted by a sextortion scheme last year – leading to more than a dozen suicides.
