A 27-year-old Nigerian national, Imoleayo Aina, has pleaded guilty in the United States for his involvement in a sextortion scheme that authorities say led to the tragic death of a teenager.
The U.S. Department of Justice, in a statement released Thursday by U.S. Attorney David Metcalf, confirmed that Aina now faces a statutory maximum sentence of life imprisonment. His sentencing has been scheduled for August 11, 2025.
Recall that Aina was arrested in Nigeria alongside his alleged co-conspirator, Samuel Olasunkanmi Abiodun, by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on July 31, 2014, and extradited to the U.S. for trial.
Both were arraigned in a U.S. District Court in August 2024, while a third co-defendant, Afeez Olatunji Adewale, remains in Nigeria awaiting extradition.
According to the DOJ statement, Aina pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including cyberstalking, interstate threats to injure reputation, receiving proceeds of extortion, money laundering conspiracy, and four counts of wire fraud.
These charges are connected to the segxwal extortion and subsequent death of a young man in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Abiodun, his co-defendant, had earlier pleaded guilty in December 2024 to money laundering conspiracy and four counts of wire fraud, and is set to be sentenced on June 10, 2025, facing a maximum of 100 years in prison.
Adewale, who was indicted alongside the others, faces similar charges but has not yet been extradited.
The U.S. authorities acknowledged the cooperation of the Nigerian government in facilitating the extradition of the suspects.
This case is one of several in an ongoing investigation into a widespread sextortion ring. On April 26, 2025.
Gistmania had reported that the FBI arrested 22 Nigerians linked to financially driven sextortion operations blamed for over 20 teenage suicides in the United States since 2021.
The arrests were part of Operation Artemis, a global sting operation led by the FBI in collaboration with law enforcement agencies from Canada, Australia, Nigeria, and the United Kingdom.
The operation began following a surge in reports of teenage boys being coerced into sending explicit images online and later extorted under threat of exposure.
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