Money Launderer Tied To Nigerian Sextortion Scheme Pleads Guilty

<_w3a_listitem listvalue="Choose an item."><_w3a_listitem listvalue="GRAND RAPIDS" datavalue="GRAND RAPIDS"><_w3a_listitem listvalue="MARQUETTE" datavalue="MARQUETTE"> GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN - Acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Andrew Birge today announced that Dinsimore Guyton Robinson, 29, of Huntsville, AL, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering, after he laundered money for Nigerian sex extortionists. Sentencing before U.S. District Judge Robert J. Jonker, is scheduled for April 24, 2025.

The indictment alleges this group used online payment systems to collect sextortion proceeds and send them to Nigerian sextortionists. According to the indictment, the sextortionists had boys and young men create nude images. After the sextortionists received those images, they allegedly had the victims send funds to the U.S.-based money launderers through online payment systems like Apple Pay, Cash App, and Zelle. The money launderers would keep about 20 percent of the money, convert the rest to bitcoin, and send the bitcoin back to Nigeria.

The indictment specifically alleges that Green laundered the funds of Jordan DeMay. In November 2022, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Michigan charged three Nigerian nationals in a sextortion scheme that resulted in the death of Jordan DeMay, a 17-year-old high school student from Marquette, Michigan, and targeted more than 100 other victims. Two of the three defendants in that case were extradited to the United States in August 2023 and pled guilty in April 2024 and were later sentenced.

Safety Tips and Resources for Victims, Teens, and Parents

The FBI provides the following tips on how people can protect themselves from sextortion schemes:

• Be selective about what you share online. If your social media accounts are open to everyone, a predator may be able to figure out a lot of information about you.
  
• Be wary of anyone you encounter for the first time online. Block or ignore messages from strangers.
  
• Be aware that people can pretend to be anything or anyone online. Videos and photos are not proof that people are who they claim to be. Images can be altered or stolen. In some cases, predators have even taken over the social media accounts of their victims.
  
• Be suspicious if you meet someone on one game or app and that person asks you to start talking on a different platform.
  
• Be in the know. Any content you create online-whether it is a text message, photo, or video-can be made public. And nothing actually "disappears" online. Once you send something, you don't have any control over where it goes next.
  
• Be willing to ask for help. If you are getting messages or requests online that don't seem right, block the sender, report the behavior to the site administrator, or go to an adult. If you have been victimized online, tell someone. Being a victim of sextortion is not your fault. You can get through this challenge, even if it seems scary and overwhelming. There are people who want to help.

If you have information about or believe you are a victim of sextortion, contact your local FBI field office, call 1-800-CALL-FBI, or report it online at http://tips.fbi.gov. This FBI PSA and National Center for Missing and Exploited Children PSA share survivor stories and resources for individuals to get help. More FBI sextortion resources are available here.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission of Nigeria. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Mekaru represented the government at the hearing.

The charges in an indictment are merely accusations, and the remaining defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in a court of law.

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