Jordan DeMay, a 17-year-old male student at Marquette Senior High School, died on March 25, 2022, as a result of a sextortion scheme. The popular student, who enjoyed football and basketball, took his own life after being targeted by an online blackmail plot. The incident unfolded over less than six hours, beginning when Jordan received messages on Instagram from someone he believed to be a girl his age.
The person Jordan was communicating with was actually part of a group of men in
Lagos, Nigeria, who were using a hacked social media account. They persuaded him to send explicit photographs of himself. Once they had the images, they demanded $1,000, threatening to send the photos to his friends and family if he did not pay. Jordan sent them $300 but told them he could not pay more and expressed that he would kill himself. One of the blackmailers responded, 'Do that fast … or I'll make you do it … I swear to God.'. Less than six hours after the threats began, Jordan died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The investigation, aided by Jordan's girlfriend who received one of the explicit photos after his death, led authorities to Nigeria. Investigators from the FBI's Michigan field office tracked the communications and uncovered a wide-ranging sextortion operation that had targeted over 100 people. Three Nigerian nationals were identified as the perpetrators: brothers Samuel and Samson Ogoshi, and Ezekiel Ejehem Robert.
The Ogoshi brothers were extradited to the United States in August 2023 to face charges. In April 2024, Samuel, 22, and Samson, 20, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to sexually exploit a minor. A federal judge in Marquette sentenced each of them to 17.5 years in prison. A Nigerian court also ordered the extradition of the third suspect, Ezekiel Robert, to the United States. Additionally, five individuals in the U.S. were charged with money laundering for their role in facilitating the financial aspects of the extortion scheme.
