Teen’s Death in Small Michigan Town Led FBI and Police to Online Sexual Extortion Scheme

Teen’s Death in Small Michigan Town Led FBI and Police to Online Sexual Extortion Scheme
Jordan DeMay in September 2021. Jennifer Buta via AP
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WASHINGTON—Last year, a teenager in a small Michigan town killed himself after an online chat turned to demands that he pay money to keep intimate photos secret. He was one of dozens of people targeted online by two men extradited from Nigeria to face charges, FBI director Christopher Wray said Saturday.

The arrests came after the FBI joined with police in Michigan to investigate the death of 17-year-old Jordan DeMay, one of thousands of American teenagers targeted in a sharp rise in online “sextortion” cases in recent years.