A Nigerian man who participated in a ‘sextortion’ scheme that led to an Abington man’s death sentenced to five years in prison

A Nigerian man who participated in the extortion of a Montgomery County college student — helping to perpetuate a twisted and elaborate online scheme that ultimately led the 20-year-old to kill himself in Jenkintown — was sentenced Tuesday to five years in federal prison.

Samuel Olasunkanmi Abiodun, 25, effectively served as a money launderer in the tormenting of Jack Sullivan two years ago, court documents say. One of Abiodun’s codefendants, also from Nigeria, had created fake social media accounts posing as a woman named “Alice Dave” and persuaded Sullivan to share intimate photos of himself — then repeatedly demanded money to keep the images private.

When the codefendant, Imoleayo Samuel Aina, needed a new place for Sullivan to send money, he turned to Abiodun, who ran a cryptocurrency account for people to store and hide illicit proceeds. In all, prosecutors said, Sullivan transferred more than $3,000 to accounts controlled by Abiodun, Aina, or a third man, Afeez Olatunju Adewale.

But the harassment reached a tragic end on Jan. 4, 2023.

After the plot’s mastermind, Aina, demanded more money, Sullivan sent a message back saying: “I don’t think I have enough for it.”

Three minutes later, court documents said, he walked onto the tracks near the Jenkintown SEPTA station, where he was struck and killed by a train.

Sullivan’s parents, Kate and Jim Sullivan, told U.S. District Court Judge Joel H. Slomsky on Tuesday that the death of their son has devastated them and their relatives — robbing them of time with a young man who was adventurous, curious, and charismatic, and who should have recently graduated from Kutztown University.

“We are heartbroken and grieving every day,” Kate Sullivan said in court.

Abiodun apologized for his actions, saying he did not know Aina and did not participate in the more salacious aspects of the harassment. He said that he was struggling and desperate for money when he set up his cryptocurrency account, and that while he knew he was offering to wash money for criminals, he did not intend for anyone to get hurt.

“I’m very, very sorry,” Abiodun said.

Slomsky, the judge, imposed a sentence five times longer than federal guidelines suggested — something he said was necessary to account for a scheme that was deliberate, complex, and international in scope.

As for Abiodun, Slomsky said: “His assistance was critical to the outcome of the fraud because he was an expert in this kind of cyber money laundering.”

The case is an example of what authorities have come to call “sextortion,” instances in which perpetrators seek to strike up flirtatious relationships with people online, lure their victims — primarily teenage boys — into sending compromising photos of themselves, and then demand money to keep the images secret.

The FBI says the crime has grown rapidly in recent years, with more than 54,000 cases reported in 2024, up from 34,000 a year earlier. At least 20 victims have died by suicide since 2021, the agency said.

The FBI and other international law enforcement agencies recently arrested dozens of Nigerians suspected of perpetuating sextortion schemes. Still, Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Brown said Tuesday that the prosecution of Sullivan’s tormentors was perhaps the first example of international defendants being held criminally responsible in a U.S. court for a sextortion case involving the death of an American adult.

Brown acknowledged that Abiodun was more of a peripheral player in the scheme targeting Sullivan, but said Abiodun was nonetheless a key part of it — providing another avenue for Aina, the plot’s mastermind, to try to keep the fraud going. Both men were purportedly associated with the so-called Yahoo Boys, a network of West African scammers who use the internet to try to swindle people out of money.

After Sullivan’s death — which was ruled a homicide due to the events that led to it — his parents sued the social media companies that were used by the perpetrators: Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, and Snap Inc., which owns Snapchat. That suit remains pending in Common Pleas Court.

Abiodun pleaded guilty earlier this year to counts including wire fraud and money laundering. Aina has also pleaded guilty and is scheduled to be sentenced in August, while the third codefendant, Adewale, has not yet been apprehended and remains in Nigeria, court documents said.

Abiodun, who has spent 22 months behind bars, is expected to be deported back to his home country once the rest of his incarceration is complete.

Slomsky, the judge, said at the end of Tuesday’s hearing that even he was struck by the tragic circumstances of the case, calling it a “sad day for so many people” and ”a difficult day — even for the court.”

“This is a cyber crime of the highest order,” he said.