Alabama man pleads guilty in sextortion case that led to Michigan teen's death
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) - An Alabama man has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to money laundering involving a scheme with Nigerian extortionists, the U.S. Attorney's office for the Western District of Michigan announced.
The case was among those that resulted after the March 2022 death of Jordan DeMay, a 17-year-old high school student from Marquette, Michigan. There also were more than 100 other victims targeted in the scheme, according to authorities.
Dinsimore Guyton Robinson, 29, of Huntsville, Alabama, will face sentencing in federal court on April 24.
DeMay had thought he was chatting on Instagram with a girl about his age; and the conversation evolved into a request for explicit pictures. After he shared photos of himself, the conversation included a demand for money or the pictures would be sent to others. DeMay could not pay the money and died by suicide at his home.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission of Nigeria.
The FBI later determined that two brothers from Nigeria used a hacked Instagram account for the conversations.
The federal indictment alleged that the group of conspirators encouraged boys and young men to take nude images, and then made threads to expose the photos as a way to demand money. The payments happened through online systems such as Apple Pay, Cash App and Zelle.
The money launderers kept part of the proceeds, the converted the rest to digital currency to send to their contacts in Nigeria.
Green was involved with laundering the money submitted by DeMay, the district attorney's office said.
Two other individuals have also been sentenced in this case.
The Report Act, signed into federal law in May 2024, now requires social media companies to report crimes involving child sex trafficking, grooming or enticement to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children's cyber tip line.
And DeMay's family has urged parents to talk with their children about the possibility of "sextortion" schemes.
Online safety tips
The FBI provided tips on how teens and adults can protect themselves from sextortion schemes. They include:
- Be selective about what you share online; as a potential predator may be able to determine a lot of details about you from those posts.
- Block or ignore messages from strangers.
- Videos and photos are not proof that people are who they claim to be online; there are cases in which social media accounts have been stolen.
- Any content you create online — whether it is a text message, photo, or video — can be made public. And nothing actually "disappears" online. Once you send content, you don't have any control over where it goes next.
- If you are getting messages or requests online that don't seem right, block the sender, report the behavior to the site administrator, or go to an adult.
If you have information about or believe you are a victim of sextortion, contact your local FBI field office, call 1-800-CALL-FBI, or report it online at http://tips.fbi.gov. An FBI PSA and a National Center for Missing and Exploited Children PSA also share resources for individuals to get help.