Two Georgia men are set to be sentenced on Monday for their roles in a sextortion scheme that led to the death of Marquette teen Jordan DeMay.
Kendall Ormond London, 32, of Lithonia, Georgia, and Brian Keith Coldmon Jr., 30, of Peachtree Corners, Georgia, will appear in federal court after pleading guilty to money laundering charges connected to the Nigerian-based sextortion operation.
The sentencing marks another milestone in the complex case that began in March 2022 when 17-year-old DeMay died by suicide after falling victim to online extortionists who obtained explicit photos of him, demanded hundreds of dollars, and threatened to share the photos online with his friends if he did not comply.
Federal prosecutors revealed the defendants were part of a five-person U.S.-based money laundering network that processed nearly $180,000 in extortion payments from multiple victims, including funds from DeMay.
The investigation uncovered 38 additional victims targeted by the criminal enterprise, with thirteen being minors.
The scheme involved Nigerian men posing as teenage girls on social media to solicit explicit photos from young males, then demanding payment under threats of sharing the images.
According to court documents, the U.S.-based money launderers collected payments through various digital payment systems including Apple Pay, Cash App, and Zelle. They retained about 20% of the funds before converting the remainder to cryptocurrency and forwarding it to their Nigerian conspirators.
The money laundering sentencings come after two Nigerian brothers, Samuel and Samson Ogoshi, were extradited to the United States and sentenced in September 2024 for their direct roles in the sextortion scheme.
“Families need to have conversations about what their children are doing online and who they’re speaking to,” Jennifer Buta, Jordan’s mother, said ahead of Monday’s sentencing. “It needs to be an ongoing conversation, because this is happening every single day to our youth, and our greatest asset at this point is education and trying to give our children the tools to reach out for help if they find themselves in a situation like Jordan’s, and the pressure gets put on and they’re asked for money, they need to reach out to an adult to get some help.”
The money laundering charges carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. The sentencing hearing is scheduled for 2 p.m. Monday in federal court.