A Georgia man admitted he was part of a five-person money laundering conspiracy that took at least $150,000 from sextortion victims, then sent proceeds of the scheme to a Nigerian criminal group.

The Acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan, Andrew Birge, said on Thursday that Johnathan Demetrius Green, of Stone Mountain, Georgia, pleaded guilty to the money laundering conspiracy charge.

Birge said that Green’s plea inched federal prosecutors closer to ending a case that started after a Michigan teen’s 2022 suicide.

Prosecutors said Green and four other men used online payment systems to collect sextortion proceeds from victims before sending them to a Nigerian man referred to as “The Plug.”

Prosecutors said the five Americans would keep about 20% of the money, then convert the rest to Bitcoin to pay the Nigerian man.

Then, the Nigerian conspirator would send the remainder to sextortionists, who wound up being Samuel Ogoshi, Samson Ogoshi, and others.

The five Americans would keep about 20% of the money, then convert the rest to Bitcoin to pay the Nigerian man, prosecutors said. Then, the Nigerian conspirator would send the remainder to sextortionists, who wound up being Samuel Ogoshi, Samson Ogoshi, and others.

The Ogoshi brothers were sentenced to 17 years in prison in September for running an international sextortion ring that targeted more than 100 victims.

“The sextortionists had boys and young men create nude images,” according to the release. “After the sextortionists received those images, they allegedly had the victims send funds to the U.S.-based money launderers through online payment systems like Apple Pay, Cash App, and Zelle.”


The four other men who pleaded guilty this year to money laundering are Dinsimore Guyton Robinson, of Huntsville, Alabama; Kendall Ormond London, of Lithonia, Georgia; Brian Keith Coldmon, of Peachtree Corners, Georgia; and Jarell Daivon Williams, of McDonough, Georgia.

The third person in the Ogoshi case is Ezekial Ejehem Robert, who prosecutors sought to extradite in 2023. It’s not immediately known if Robert is in the U.S.

Green’s lawyer didn’t immediately respond to USA TODAY’s request for comment.

“These individuals helped and profited from this awful, heartbreaking scheme and so they now will face the consequences,” Birge said.

According to court papers, the five men took at least $178,658 from victims between 2020 and 2022. Prosecutors didn’t say how many victims sent the men money, but one was Jordan DeMay, 17, who lived in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, and died by suicide on March 24, 2022, after he was extorted by the Ogoshi brothers.

The Nigerian brothers posed as a young girl DeMay’s age and exchanged intimate photos. That’s when the conversation turned, and the brothers threatened to release DeMay’s explicit photos unless he paid.

DeMay paid the brothers $300, which went to Green’s Apple Pay account, according to court documents. Green sent the money to his Cash App account, then bought Bitcoin funds to pay “The Plug.” The money was then sent to the sextortionists, who later urged DeMay to act on his suicidal ideations. Nearly six hours later, DeMay died.

Federal prosecutors haven’t yet charged the Nigerian man who the five Americans sent Bitcoin payments.

According to the Justice Department, the five men could face up to 20 years in prison at sentencing.



https://punchng.com/georgia-man-admits-aiding-nigerian-con-men-in-sextortion-scheme/