A 27-year-old Nigerian national, Imoleayo Aina, has pleaded
guilty in the United States for his involvement in a $extortion 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 s#xual 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 $#xtortion ring. On April 26, 2025.
DAILY POST had reported that the FBI arrested 22 Nigerians
linked to financially driven $#xtortion 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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