How the FBI Extradited Sextortionists Linked to U.S. Death

From romance scams that prey on the elderly to pig butchering scams that target executives, sextortion gangs usually operate beyond U.S. borders — leaving victims, local police, and federal agencies between a rock and a hard place.

The transnational nature of global criminal activity has created numerous roadblocks for local law enforcement and the FBI who struggle to find a way around these crimes.

However, a new FBI-led case has turned things around, successfully extraditing two Nigerian men in connection to sextortion and the death of a young U.S. citizen.

Table of Contents Table of Contents

1. Key Takeaways
2. DoJ Announces Extradition and Prosecution of Two Nigerian Men for Alledged Sextortion and Death of U.S. Citizen
3. Fort Washington FBI Team Takes a Win and Trailblazes a New Path
4. Challenges that Local Police and the FBI Face on a Daily Basis
5. The Bottom Line
6. References

Show Full Guide

Table of Contents

1. Key Takeaways
2. DoJ Announces Extradition and Prosecution of Two Nigerian Men for Alledged Sextortion and Death of U.S. Citizen
3. Fort Washington FBI Team Takes a Win and Trailblazes a New Path
Show Full Guide
4. Challenges that Local Police and the FBI Face on a Daily Basis
5. The Bottom Line
6. References

DoJ Announces Extradition and Prosecution of Two Nigerian Men for Alledged Sextortion and Death of U.S. Citizen

In early August, the Department of Justice (DoJ) United States Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania announced that two Nigerian men were extradited to the U.S., where they face charges for alleged sextortion leading to the death of a young man from Pennsylvania.

Imoleayo Samuel Aina, age 26, and Samuel Olasunkanmi Abiodun, age 24, could face life in prison and 40 years of jail, respectively, if they are found guilty of the charged offenses.

The DoJ charged Aina with cyberstalking, interstate threats to injure reputation, and receiving proceeds of extortion. Aina and Abiodun are also charged with wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy.

Working with local Nigerian law enforcement, the FBI arrested both men in Nigeria on July 31, 2024, and extradited them to the U.S. with the assistance of the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, the FBI Legal Attaché in Abuja, Nigeria, and the FBI.

The DoJ explained the different organizations that had to cooperate to bring both men to justice.

Joshua Lee, an active-duty police sergeant in Arizona with nearly two decades of experience in law enforcement, specializing in complex investigations involving racketeering, white-collar crime, and cryptocurrency, a company that leverages state-of-the-art technology to help organizations, spoke to Techopedia about this case.

“Many international cases are inherently difficult to investigate and even more difficult to prosecute.

 

“When international law enforcement happens to make an international arrest, getting the suspect extradited to the investigating country is the last major hurdle to jump over.”

Sextortion — the crime of threatening to expose sexual images of a victim if they do not comply with the criminal’s demands (usually money transfers) has skyrocketed in 2024.

The June report of Thorn, the ‘digital defenders of children’ previously known as the DNA Foundation, an international anti-human trafficking organization, found that sextortion is an ongoing threat, with an average of 812 cases of sextortion reported every week.

The report reveals the immense damage that sextortion criminals cause to their victims.

“The impact on children can be devastating, leading to severe trauma and, in extreme cases, suicide due to sextortion.

“Surveys of sextortion victims found that 12% reported they ‘moved to a new neighborhood, community or town’ and that 24% reported that they ‘saw a mental health or medical practitioner as a result of the incident.”

The Thorn report also found that the top two countries from which most sextortion criminals operate are Nigeria and Cote d’Ivoire in Africa. The top two platforms used by sextortion criminals are Instagram and Snapchat.

However, Sergeant Lee told Techopedia that these reported numbers only scratch the surface of the problem.

“Reportable cases of sextortion worldwide are increasing; however, many of these types of cases go unreported because the victims are ashamed, embarrassed, or fear that their reputation will be destroyed.

 

“This particular case is a tragic example of what many victims go through, and unfortunately, it is all too common.”

Fort Washington FBI Team Takes a Win and Trailblazes a New Path

Adam Sucheski, Supervisory Senior Resident Agent at the FBI, led the Fort Washington FBI team that led the operation. Sucheski said the case was “a perfect example of international cooperation on a complex and difficult case that tragically led to the death of an innocent victim”.

Sergeant Lee said the case is a sign of increased aggressive prosecution to combat sextortion.

“Anina and Abiodun’s case, even though extremely rare, does show international interest in prosecuting sextortion cases linked to cryptocurrency money laundering and child crimes.

 

“There is an increased pressure for countries to comply with international money laundering rules and guidelines, especially money laundering tied to crypto, because the penalty for these types of violations may affect how that country conducts international financial businesses.”

Challenges that Local Police and the FBI Face on a Daily Basis

Sergeant Lee also discussed the legal and operational challenges that law enforcement agencies face when tackling large-scale fraud and criminal enterprises.

“The first major hurdle starts locally with victim participation,” Lee said. “Often in sextortion cases, the victims simply do not want to prosecute because of the potential public shame for what they did when they were interacting with the suspect.

“An easy way to protect the victims is simply by enacting new legislation. It is easy for law enforcement agencies to not disclose juvenile names to the public because it is written into the law. Unfortunately, the law only applies to juveniles, not adults. State and Federal courts should consider redacting adult victim names for cases linked to sextortion.”

The second hurdle is dealing with crimes that cross jurisdictional boundaries. “Cybercriminals often operate across state and national borders, making it difficult to determine which agency has authority to investigate and prosecute,” Lee added.

“International cases also require complex coordination between police agencies and non-profit organizations in different countries.”

The third hurdle deals with technology. “Law enforcement, especially local law enforcement, often struggle to investigate these schemes simply because they do not have the software systems needed to perform these investigations,” Lee said.

Finally, the last hurdle deals with timing, laws, and regulations.

“Timing is the most important part of these investigations. Local police need to act quickly, determine jurisdiction, and refer the case to federal agencies as quickly as they can. In many cases, the local agency and the federal agency will do a joint investigation.”

 

“But moving quickly is important. The longer the scheme goes without being investigated, the harder it is to digitally track the bad guys, and more potential victims will be found later.”

The Bottom Line

The DoJ sextortion case connected to the death of a young man from Pennsylvania shows how international fraudsters and scammers who run illegal operations from faraway countries can be prosecuted.

Sextortion is, without a doubt, one of the darkest cybercriminal activities in the world today and has led to countless teen suicides.

Despite these tragic events, as the young are increasingly targeted, local law enforcement, FBI, foreign police, and liaison agents can investigate and enforce the law.

Hopefully, this case presents a blueprint for international actions to safeguard online users, and signals increased activity to combat online crimes like sextortion.