Two Nigerian brothers, Samuel and Samson Ogoshi, were recently sentenced to 17 1/2 years in federal prison for sexually extorting over 100 young men and teenage boys in the United States. They ran an international sextortion ring by posing as young women on social media and targeting victims with fake profiles. Tragically, their scheme led to the suicide of a Michigan high school student named Jordan DeMay. The Ogoshi brothers used hacked social media accounts to lure victims and then requested sexually explicit images, which they used to blackmail the victims by threatening to expose them to their families and friends unless they paid up using online cash applications. The brothers also created collages of victims’ personal photos to further intimidate them.
Financial sextortion schemes have seen a rise in recent years, with scammers targeting men on social media with the promise of romantic relationships and then using compromising imagery to extort money from them. The Ogoshi brothers were part of a larger crime network involved in similar schemes, with Nigeria being a common country associated with sextortion operations. Authorities have warned that these schemes pose a growing threat to teenagers, with thousands of reports of online financial sextortion involving minors being received each year.
If you or someone you know is a victim of online sexual violence or needs mental health support, organizations like the National Sexual Violence Resource Center and the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline can provide help and assistance. Sextortion is a serious crime with devastating consequences, and it’s important for individuals to be cautious online and to seek help if they become victims.
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