A 27-year-old Nigerian, Imoleayo Aina, who was extradited to the United States of America for his alleged role in a sextortion scheme that caused the death of a teenager, has pleaded guilty.

A statement by US Attorney David Metcalf, obtained from the Department of Justice website on Thursday, disclosed that Aina now risks a maximum sentence of life imprisonment for the offences.

Metcalf noted that Aina and a fellow Nigerian co-defendant, Samuel Olasunkanmi Abiodun, were arrested in Nigeria by the Federal Bureau of Investigation on 31 July 2014.

They were arraigned alongside another co-conspirator, Afeez Olatunji Adewale, who is yet to be arrested and extradited, before a US district court judge in August 2024.

The statement disclosed that Aina pleaded guilty to counts bordering on “cyberstalking, interstate threat to injure reputation, receiving proceeds of extortion, money laundering conspiracy, and four counts of wire fraud, in connection with the sexual extortion and death of a young man in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.”

It continued, “Aina is scheduled to be sentenced on 11 August and faces a statutory maximum of lifetime imprisonment.”

Metcalf added that Abiodun also pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy in December 2024, while Adewale is yet to be extradited to the US but was charged along with the defendants.

“Abiodun pleaded guilty in December to money laundering conspiracy and four counts of wire fraud. He is scheduled to be sentenced on 10 June and faces a statutory maximum of 100 years’ imprisonment.

“Adewale has also been charged with money laundering conspiracy and four counts of wire fraud. He remains in Nigeria, pending extradition to the US,” Metcalf noted.

He acknowledged the role of the Nigerian government in aiding the extradition of the defendants.

PUNCH Online reported on 26 April that the FBI arrested 22 Nigerians allegedly involved in a financially motivated sextortion scheme that has been blamed for more than 20 teen suicides in the United States since 2021.

In a report published on its website, the arrests were part of a first-of-its-kind global operation, codenamed Artemis, conducted in collaboration with law enforcement agencies in Canada, Australia, Nigeria, and the United Kingdom.

The FBI launched Operation Artemis nearly two years ago after receiving thousands of reports of teen boys being coerced into sharing sexually explicit photos online and then extorted with threats of exposure unless they paid.