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Jordan DeMay's Story and the Dangers of Sextortion with Crime with Holly · Least of These

0:02
[SPEAKER_00]: Hey y'all, and welcome to least of these, where I cover the cases that need it most, because every life matters and everyone deserves justice.
0:11
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm your host, Leia D. Happy New Year, everybody.
0:15
[SPEAKER_00]: I hope you all had an amazing Christmas and you're all still spending time with those you love most.
0:22
[SPEAKER_00]: This is my last week off, and I'll be back with an all new case next Thursday, but today, our friend Holly is here from Crime With Holly.
0:31
[SPEAKER_00]: If you've been around for a while, you probably know all about crime with Holly.
0:36
[SPEAKER_00]: She's a regular feature around here, and that's because she is one of the best humans that I know.
0:42
[SPEAKER_00]: And today, she's bringing us the tragic story of Jordan Dame.
0:47
[SPEAKER_00]: Jordan was just 17 years old when he took his own life on March 25th of 2022, after he was targeted in a financial sex-stortion scheme.
0:59
[SPEAKER_00]: When I asked Holly to fill in over my holiday break, I knew that this was the story I wanted to share, because financial-sex-stortion cases are on the rise, and it can all spiral out of control so quickly.
1:12
[SPEAKER_00]: I was stunned at how fast everything transpired and Jordan-Demaze case.
1:18
[SPEAKER_00]: Jordan was contacted by someone randomly online and less than six hours later, he was gone.
1:26
[SPEAKER_00]: For me, that was a wake-up call.
1:29
[SPEAKER_00]: In this episode, Holly spoke with Jordan's mother Jen, and after listening to the episode myself, I sat down with my teenage daughter and we listened again together.
1:40
[SPEAKER_00]: It was the perfect opportunity for the two of us to have an open and honest conversation about sexting, sex distortion, and how to be safer on the internet.
1:49
[SPEAKER_00]: I will forever be grateful to Jen and Holly for sharing Jordan's story and leading us to have that conversation.
1:56
[SPEAKER_00]: And maybe Jordan's story will lead you to have some of those same conversations with your teens.
2:03
[SPEAKER_00]: Before I pass the mic off to Holly, y'all make sure to follow, subscribe, do all the things, so you'll never miss an episode of Crime With Holly.
2:13
[SPEAKER_00]: Believe me, you won't regret it.
2:15
[SPEAKER_00]: I'll be sure to drop links right there in the show notes.
2:18
[SPEAKER_00]: Without further ado, let's join Holly and Jen as they tell us Jordan's story.
2:36
[SPEAKER_03]: Hey everyone, and welcome back.
2:38
[SPEAKER_03]: I'm Holly, and this is Crime with Holly podcast.
2:42
[SPEAKER_03]: Before we begin, I want to give today's episode just a gentle warning.
2:47
[SPEAKER_03]: Today's topic we're going to be talking about is very hard, very heavy, very difficult to hear.
2:53
[SPEAKER_03]: It's tragic and it involves information about someone taking their own life.
2:58
[SPEAKER_03]: But it's also an incredibly important message.
3:02
[SPEAKER_03]: One that I highly encourage that you listen to with your teenagers or at the very least, go and have a conversation with them about it afterward.
3:12
[SPEAKER_03]: Today's episode is about financial sextortion, a crime has been exploding in recent years.
3:19
[SPEAKER_03]: Our focus is on 17-year-old Jordan Deme, a bright, kind young man whose life was tragically cut short on March 25, 2022 after being targeted in one of these schemes.
3:33
[SPEAKER_03]: Jordan was threatened, coerced and pushed into a corner by criminals who demanded money in exchange for silence, and sadly, his story is far from rare.
3:44
[SPEAKER_03]: To give you some perspective, the National Center for Missing and
3:57
[SPEAKER_03]: That was more than double the number that they had from the year before.
4:02
[SPEAKER_03]: Most of the victims are teen boys between the ages of 14 and 17 years old, and the aftermath isn't just financial.
4:11
[SPEAKER_03]: These crimes leave deep emotional scars, and in some cases the pain becomes too heavy to carry.
4:18
[SPEAKER_03]: When I first stumbled upon Jen, Jordan's mom, sharing his story, I felt compelled to bring it here to my listeners.
4:26
[SPEAKER_03]: As a mother of a teenager myself, I realized how little this crime is talked about, and how important it is that we start these conversations not only as true crime followers, but as parents, families, and communities.
4:43
[SPEAKER_03]: Jin has bravely chosen to speak out about what happened to Jordan in the hope of protecting other kids from going through the same thing.
4:52
[SPEAKER_03]: This isn't just about one single case.
4:55
[SPEAKER_03]: It's about a growing epidemic of predators using technology to exploit kids and teens win their most vulnerable.
5:24
[UNKNOWN]: .
5:35
[SPEAKER_03]: And I just want to say thank you to you before we start to thank you for reaching out and taking interest in this yeah I saw his story on Facebook and I was like oh my gosh I'm going to go over to TikTok because I think it was a clip from one of your TikToks and I'm going to go over there and I don't do a ton of interviews but when I do you know it's it's.
5:58
[SPEAKER_03]: It's not only like to hear about his story, but it's also a big learning opportunity, and that is a lot of why.
6:04
[SPEAKER_03]: I do what I do because it's awareness, and this is something that is new that is coming out as far as what happened.
6:13
[SPEAKER_03]: And it's conversations that we need to have with our kids and I have a 13 year old, and so I told him I was like, I'm interviewing this woman next week and I gave him, you know, the story and I just told him, talk to your parents.
6:28
[SPEAKER_03]: Don't be scared.
6:28
[SPEAKER_03]: If you mess up, you know, tell me and we'll fix it.
6:32
[SPEAKER_03]: So I, I just love, I love that you are now using what you guys went through as you're you're giving it purpose, which is amazing.
6:44
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
6:46
[SPEAKER_01]: And Jordan, honestly, set up my TikTok account for me.
6:49
[SPEAKER_01]: Oh, I love that.
6:51
[SPEAKER_01]: I, like, didn't want it.
6:53
[SPEAKER_01]: And I was watching Reels on Facebook.
6:55
[SPEAKER_01]: And he was like, knock it off.
6:57
[SPEAKER_01]: Just get the TikTok.
6:58
[SPEAKER_01]: And I was like, no, no, the Reels are fine.
7:00
[SPEAKER_01]: So he set it up.
7:01
[SPEAKER_01]: And he's like, here.
7:02
[SPEAKER_01]: Now you can just watch TikToks.
7:04
[SPEAKER_01]: And so when he passed, and he had only set it up like a month or two before he passed,
7:14
[SPEAKER_01]: where I can reach the most people, and the group that I want to reach is with this app.
7:22
[SPEAKER_01]: And if that's our means now, I don't know that I would be on that platform talking about it.
7:28
[SPEAKER_02]: Oh, I love that.
7:29
[SPEAKER_02]: That's like, that's special.
7:30
[SPEAKER_02]: That's really, really special.
7:33
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, so my profile picture and everything he set up.
7:37
[SPEAKER_03]: Oh, that's cute.
7:43
[SPEAKER_01]: My name is Jennifer Buida.
7:46
[SPEAKER_01]: I am from Marquette, Michigan.
7:48
[SPEAKER_01]: And I am Jordan Dame's mom.
7:51
[SPEAKER_01]: Jordan came into this world and it crazy, crazy way.
7:55
[SPEAKER_01]: He was about a month early and I wasn't able to have a normal delivery and he ended up being delivered within nine minutes from an emergency see section.
8:08
[SPEAKER_01]: And when I woke up, I didn't know if he was alive and he was.
8:12
[SPEAKER_01]: So he came into the world in a very, very big way.
8:17
[SPEAKER_01]: As a kid, he was, you know, super easy going, really loved playing sports from a young age, just getting involved with basketball, baseball, I tried about in soccer one year and running up and down the field was not for him and he figured it out if you could just stay on one side, that was much better and he could still play the game.
8:42
[SPEAKER_01]: He was my only child for 14 years.
8:45
[SPEAKER_01]: so it was just him and I growing up together, we shared a lot of good times together, a lot of hard times together, traveling for sports, those conversations in the car, about all of the things, he loved to shop.
9:04
[SPEAKER_01]: We, if we went to a mall, it was both of us trying out clothes and getting each other's opinions.
9:10
[SPEAKER_01]: He taught me all about different types of music, specifically the rap and hip-hop, so we're in the car that's always what was playing, and those are some of the things that I love to listen to now.
9:23
[SPEAKER_01]: He and I had a rule between us and it was there are no secrets.
9:29
[SPEAKER_01]: And there weren't.
9:31
[SPEAKER_01]: I knew everything going on in his life and even as an adult where I tried to steal him from Trump, adult things, he knew when something was up and he would call me out on it and say, there's no secrets on.
9:46
[SPEAKER_01]: and there were nights, many nights where either I was up in his room, talking to him, bothering him, while he's trying to play a video game, and saying, who are you talking to, who are you playing with, what's going on?
9:59
[SPEAKER_01]: And vice versa, he would come down to my room and sit on the bed and we would talk for hours about all of the different things.
10:08
[SPEAKER_01]: Jordan's love for sports continued as he got older.
10:11
[SPEAKER_01]: He was a phenomenal basketball player of football player.
10:14
[SPEAKER_01]: He did have an injury that kind of set him back, but he did all of the work and got himself back to playing.
10:22
[SPEAKER_01]: And it was not a minor injury.
10:24
[SPEAKER_01]: It was really life-changing for him in the goals that he had, but he overcame it.
10:31
[SPEAKER_01]: And I think it made him very, very humble.
10:35
[SPEAKER_01]: with his friends.
10:37
[SPEAKER_01]: He was everybody's friend.
10:38
[SPEAKER_01]: He didn't have just one group of friends.
10:41
[SPEAKER_01]: He socialized with everybody.
10:44
[SPEAKER_01]: He said hello to everybody and that's something that he and I talked about going through life is just be kind to people.
10:54
[SPEAKER_01]: If there is someone who came from another school or they're sitting alone, just be kind to them because you don't know what anybody else is going through.
11:03
[SPEAKER_03]: That's exactly how I am with my son.
11:05
[SPEAKER_03]: He's, like I said, he's 13 and that's a conversation that we have all the time that you don't ever know what somebody's going through and just because your peers are being mean or putting them down be better, be the better person and show everybody what it's like to be better.
11:25
[SPEAKER_03]: He was pretty popular, right?
11:27
[SPEAKER_03]: He was, was it homecoming king?
11:30
[SPEAKER_01]: He was homecoming king, he was popular, but I don't think that he knew he was popular.
11:36
[SPEAKER_01]: I didn't know that he was viewed by his peers that way.
11:41
[SPEAKER_01]: And I remember the night that he was crowned homecoming king.
11:45
[SPEAKER_01]: He and I had a conversation about it.
11:48
[SPEAKER_01]: And I said, do you think that you're gonna get it?
11:51
[SPEAKER_01]: And he was like, no, Mom, there are several other people on the court that are likely to get it.
11:56
[SPEAKER_01]: And when they called his name,
11:59
[SPEAKER_01]: Like I had these chills go through my body.
12:01
[SPEAKER_01]: I was ready to cry and he was so humble about it.
12:07
[SPEAKER_01]: His girlfriend was also on the homecoming court.
12:10
[SPEAKER_01]: And she was not out and he was more concerned with her and her feelings than, you know, being in the moment of what he was feeling.
12:20
[SPEAKER_03]: I love that.
12:20
[SPEAKER_03]: That's so sweet.
12:21
[SPEAKER_03]: So how long were they together for him and his girlfriend?
12:24
[SPEAKER_03]: Tell me about her and their relationship.
12:28
[SPEAKER_01]: they started out as friends going back to junior high they were friends and then leading up to a senior year they had started sending some time together just as friends and then they decided to start dating and Kylie was amazing she spent time at the house with us um i have two younger daughters so
12:52
[SPEAKER_01]: She sometimes would come and watch the kids for me.
12:56
[SPEAKER_01]: Thailand, I had a really great relationship, but we still do, we still talk.
13:02
[SPEAKER_01]: And I believe that I believe that they were planning a future together.
13:07
[SPEAKER_03]: What were his goals as far as like after school?
13:11
[SPEAKER_01]: Because he was still a senior correct?
13:13
[SPEAKER_01]: Yes, he was a senior at the time this happened.
13:16
[SPEAKER_01]: He was going to go to school and study to be an athletic trainer.
13:23
[SPEAKER_01]: And this came from his sports injuries.
13:27
[SPEAKER_01]: He sent a lot of time in the physical therapy building.
13:32
[SPEAKER_01]: He sent probably a half a year
13:35
[SPEAKER_01]: the physical therapy building.
13:37
[SPEAKER_01]: And the people who helped him were amazing.
13:40
[SPEAKER_01]: And I think he learned, you know, stuff about having empathy.
13:46
[SPEAKER_01]: helping people when they're in this situation.
13:49
[SPEAKER_01]: And it wasn't just about physically healing him.
13:53
[SPEAKER_01]: I think what they taught him was so much more.
13:56
[SPEAKER_01]: That's amazing.
13:58
[SPEAKER_03]: And so that was his goal was to kind of spread that what someone did for him to other people.
14:04
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, it was.
14:06
[SPEAKER_03]: So if you want to,
14:09
[SPEAKER_03]: get into what exactly happened and leading up to that.
14:13
[SPEAKER_03]: Was there anything that you know that was going on prior to what happened.
14:19
[SPEAKER_01]: So on the evening before this happened, Jordan was preparing to go on a trip with his dad's family to Florida.
14:28
[SPEAKER_01]: He had stopped at my house.
14:31
[SPEAKER_01]: After school, he was getting all of his things ready.
14:34
[SPEAKER_01]: We had a conversation.
14:36
[SPEAKER_01]: know about or you excited to be out of school for two weeks and he was ready for a little Florida time.
14:44
[SPEAKER_01]: So he packed up his things, he gave me a hug, he gave a sister a hug and Alpador, he went later on that evening.
14:53
[SPEAKER_01]: He faced time me from Meyer to see was shopping for some last minute things and we had texted throughout the night up until about like nine, nine,
15:06
[SPEAKER_01]: The next morning I woke up and about six o'clock and I had a text message on my phone from him at 341 in the morning and it said mother I love you and this really didn't set off any red alarms for me.
15:25
[SPEAKER_01]: Jordan would stay up late playing on his video games.
15:29
[SPEAKER_01]: So I figured he was just up late and he was going to be gone for two weeks.
15:34
[SPEAKER_01]: So he was just sending me a message.
15:37
[SPEAKER_01]: So I texted him back and said, I love you too.
15:40
[SPEAKER_01]: I hope you got a good night's sleep.
15:41
[SPEAKER_01]: And I proceeded to get ready.
15:43
[SPEAKER_01]: I brought my daughters to take care.
15:47
[SPEAKER_01]: Once I got out of daycare, I sent him another message that said, are you okay?
15:54
[SPEAKER_01]: because Jordan always responded to me, always responded to me.
16:00
[SPEAKER_01]: And he didn't respond.
16:02
[SPEAKER_01]: And I got back home and I'm starting to panic.
16:07
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't know what came over me that I knew something wasn't right.
16:12
[SPEAKER_01]: And so I sent him another text message that just said Jordan and there was still no response.
16:21
[SPEAKER_01]: So I reached out to his girlfriend, knowing that school has started and he should be sitting in class right now.
16:29
[SPEAKER_01]: And I asked her, is Jordan in school?
16:32
[SPEAKER_01]: And she said no, and I knew something was very, very wrong.
16:38
[SPEAKER_01]: So I reached out to Jordan's father, and I said, is Jordan at your house?
16:44
[SPEAKER_01]: And this was by text message.
16:46
[SPEAKER_01]: And nine minutes later, I see,
16:49
[SPEAKER_01]: his phone number calling me.
16:52
[SPEAKER_01]: And all he said was Jordan's gone.
16:56
[SPEAKER_01]: My legs went completely numb.
16:58
[SPEAKER_01]: I immediately went into shock saying no, no, no.
17:04
[SPEAKER_01]: I could not understand how I had had these conversations with him the night before.
17:10
[SPEAKER_01]: And he's getting ready to go on a trip.
17:12
[SPEAKER_01]: And now he's gone.
17:13
[SPEAKER_01]: What happened?
17:18
[SPEAKER_01]: we had no idea.
17:20
[SPEAKER_01]: We had no clue leading up about why he would have done this.
17:27
[SPEAKER_01]: So as you go through the motions, we are a few hours later sitting at a funeral home setting up my son's burial arrangements, nothing that I ever thought I would have to do.
17:46
[SPEAKER_01]: I need to see Jordan's phone, and I told her it's gone.
17:51
[SPEAKER_01]: The police have his phone, and asked her why, and she said I think that he was talking to someone last night and I need to see his phone.
18:02
[SPEAKER_01]: So I said, well, I need to know what this is because if this was the last person to talk to Jordan, maybe they can give us some answers about what happened.
18:14
[SPEAKER_01]: She didn't really want to share it at first.
18:18
[SPEAKER_01]: I think that she was in shock as well, understandably, but she didn't want to cause any embarrassment for Jordan.
18:27
[SPEAKER_01]: So I reached out to the detective who was handling the case and let him know that his girlfriend, Hilah had some things and he talked to her about it and was able to get that information.
18:44
[SPEAKER_01]: About 24 hours later, the police officers came to us and said, we think that this is a case of sex distortion, which I really didn't know what sex distortion was at that time.
18:58
[SPEAKER_01]: The FBI had put out a press release the day prior to Jordan taking his life, warning parents that sex distortion was becoming a growing crime amongst kids.
19:10
[SPEAKER_01]: And I really didn't know anything about it.
19:14
[SPEAKER_01]: because Kyla had these messages police were able to do some digging and they came back and were able to give us some answers.
19:28
[SPEAKER_01]: Jordan was contacted by a person alleging to be a female on Instagram the night before and they started having this conversation back and forth
19:41
[SPEAKER_01]: Hi, what are you doing?
19:43
[SPEAKER_01]: I, we have a mutual friend.
19:47
[SPEAKER_01]: They were, they were trying to gain Jordan's trust and making it seem like this was just casual conversation between two teenagers.
19:56
[SPEAKER_03]: This wasn't somebody that had previously followed him or he followed.
19:59
[SPEAKER_03]: This was just kind of like a random person that reached out.
20:03
[SPEAKER_01]: It was a completely random DM.
20:06
[SPEAKER_01]: Um, as the conversation went on, the person said, I like to play games.
20:11
[SPEAKER_01]: Do you like to play games?
20:14
[SPEAKER_01]: And, um, she asked Jordan to send an explicit photo of himself.
20:19
[SPEAKER_01]: And he, he didn't, um, initially, and with some of our pressure, the person said, well, I'll send you one of me.
20:27
[SPEAKER_01]: And now you have to write fair spare.
20:30
[SPEAKER_01]: So Jordan did.
20:31
[SPEAKER_01]: And the moment that he sent that call photo,
20:35
[SPEAKER_01]: He was no longer speaking to this teenager in another state.
20:39
[SPEAKER_01]: He was speaking to males in another country.
20:42
[SPEAKER_01]: And they immediately put the pressure on him and said, we're gonna ruin your entire life.
20:47
[SPEAKER_01]: We're gonna share this with everybody.
20:49
[SPEAKER_01]: You can go to jail unless you pay us this money.
20:52
[SPEAKER_01]: They wanted $1,000.
20:53
[SPEAKER_01]: Jordan didn't have $1,000.
20:58
[SPEAKER_01]: He had $300.
20:59
[SPEAKER_01]: And he paid them that.
21:02
[SPEAKER_01]: but they didn't let up.
21:03
[SPEAKER_01]: They wanted more money.
21:05
[SPEAKER_01]: They started building collages of his photos on Instagram and making it look like they had sent it out to his friends, to his friends' parents.
21:20
[SPEAKER_01]: And then they started asking, you know, give us something.
21:23
[SPEAKER_01]: They had a countdown that they would use, saying 10, 9, 8, 7.
21:31
[SPEAKER_01]: which is just ramping up, I think, the intensiveness and the stress of the situation.
21:38
[SPEAKER_01]: Turned tried to send them more money, but it didn't go through.
21:44
[SPEAKER_01]: It wasn't enough.
21:46
[SPEAKER_01]: And they told him, you know, we're gonna make your life miserable.
21:51
[SPEAKER_01]: And he said, I feel like I want to take my own life and they said, good.
21:59
[SPEAKER_01]: do that fast, or we will make you do it.
22:02
[SPEAKER_01]: And my son retrieved a handgun and took his own life.
22:09
[SPEAKER_03]: Wow, I'm so sorry that that happened.
22:11
[SPEAKER_03]: How long was he communicating with this person for it?
22:15
[SPEAKER_03]: I know it was just that one evening, but was this, and I think I read that it was a couple of hours, right?
22:21
[SPEAKER_03]: It was less than six hours.
22:24
[SPEAKER_03]: ESPN did an article correct, is that what I,
22:28
[SPEAKER_03]: In that article, I think they had stated that they did reach out and send something to his girlfriend, which you've you've covered, but what there was a threat in that, right, wasn't there something more that they said to her.
22:42
[SPEAKER_01]: So they did follow through and send images to his girlfriend and they were trying to get money from her and saying that they would ruin his life for their lives and they don't want
22:56
[SPEAKER_01]: They don't want to play beams with them.
22:58
[SPEAKER_01]: And she let them know that Jordan was gone.
23:03
[SPEAKER_01]: Jordan had taken his life.
23:06
[SPEAKER_01]: And it sounds funny to say that think the distance that they did follow through and send these to Jordan's girlfriend, because without it, we might never know what actually happened to Jordan.
23:22
[SPEAKER_03]: Do you think that the police would have looked further into his cell phone or would they have just assumed that, you know, maybe he just took his life because he was struggling with something.
23:30
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't think that the investigation would have gone any further than just labeling it as a routine teenage suicide.
23:42
[SPEAKER_03]: So when they got that information from her and they started digging a little deeper, what was that investigation like and how long did all of that process take for you guys?
23:53
[SPEAKER_01]: So the local police had to hand this off to the FBI.
23:57
[SPEAKER_01]: That happened within a week's time that the FBI took it over.
24:03
[SPEAKER_01]: this investigation went on for several months and there was no information that they could release to us as things were moving forward.
24:16
[SPEAKER_01]: All I knew is that the investigation was going well.
24:19
[SPEAKER_01]: That was all they could tell me.
24:21
[SPEAKER_01]: So almost a year after this passing, the FBI sat
24:33
[SPEAKER_01]: in Jordan's case in Nigeria, which in and of itself that they even found the individuals is amazing.
24:44
[SPEAKER_01]: So they had charged these individuals that were three of them that they had charges for the next step in the process would be to extradite them from Nigeria to the United
25:01
[SPEAKER_01]: can be a lengthy process.
25:03
[SPEAKER_01]: Also, it could never happen when you're dealing with another country and their laws.
25:10
[SPEAKER_01]: So less than a year and a half after Jordan was gone, they notified us that they were bringing them over from Nigeria.
25:21
[SPEAKER_01]: and it happened super fast where they notified us that they were bringing them into Grand Rapids.
25:28
[SPEAKER_01]: I packed my bags for a week not knowing how long I would be in Grand Rapids because I had to be there.
25:36
[SPEAKER_01]: I had to be there to see these people who last spoke to my son.
25:41
[SPEAKER_01]: So they got two of the individuals here.
25:44
[SPEAKER_01]: They are brothers and they they faced multiple charges
25:51
[SPEAKER_01]: They had their arrangement, and then they had a bond hearing to see if they should be released out on bond.
25:59
[SPEAKER_01]: And I was in court for every single moment.
26:03
[SPEAKER_01]: They were not released on bond, fast forward to about six months after that, both of them took plea agreements to plead guilty to one charge each.
26:16
[SPEAKER_01]: What were those charges do you remember?
26:19
[SPEAKER_01]: the charges were the sexual exploitation of a minor.
26:23
[SPEAKER_03]: Okay.
26:24
[SPEAKER_01]: This group of individuals Jordan wasn't the only person that they did this to.
26:30
[SPEAKER_01]: There were over 100 victims, but they targeted in about a year and a half time period, that they collected almost $180,000 from.
26:42
[SPEAKER_02]: Wow.
26:43
[SPEAKER_01]: Oh, wow.
26:44
[SPEAKER_03]: This is just, it's crazy that someone, not even from your own country could, could reach out and and do this to you.
26:52
[SPEAKER_03]: That's scary.
26:54
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, it's scary that someone from a completely different country can come into your home and do this to your child.
27:03
[SPEAKER_01]: It's just this scam is so callous.
27:07
[SPEAKER_01]: What we know is that there were three individuals in Nigeria passively four involved in the messaging and the threats that there were five people who are stateside in the United States that were involved with money laundering because you have to have a way to get the money from here and convert it over to a different currency
27:37
[SPEAKER_03]: So were those people charged as well?
27:40
[SPEAKER_03]: Or was it just the two from Nigeria?
27:42
[SPEAKER_01]: So there are the two brothers from Nigeria that have their charges and they have been sentenced.
27:50
[SPEAKER_01]: There is one other individual in Nigeria.
27:53
[SPEAKER_01]: We are awaiting their extradition.
27:55
[SPEAKER_01]: It was approved and then they appealed it.
27:59
[SPEAKER_01]: So we are just waiting for the courts to make a decision on that.
28:05
[SPEAKER_01]: the five people who are state side involved with the money laundering, they have all received charges.
28:13
[SPEAKER_01]: Three of them have already pledged their charges and been sentenced.
28:18
[SPEAKER_01]: Another individual will be sentenced coming up in November.
28:21
[SPEAKER_01]: Okay.
28:23
[SPEAKER_03]: So as far as the two that they extra-dited here and charged and they took, you know, their pleas or whatever, what was their sentence?
28:31
[SPEAKER_03]: What
28:35
[SPEAKER_01]: the two individuals that are here, they each received 17 and a half years in a federal prison.
28:42
[SPEAKER_01]: So they are here in the United States.
28:45
[SPEAKER_01]: They will serve their time.
28:47
[SPEAKER_03]: Did you feel like that was enough when you guys got that sentence?
28:51
[SPEAKER_03]: How did that make you feel?
28:53
[SPEAKER_01]: It's so hard, right?
28:54
[SPEAKER_01]: Because nobody prepares you.
28:57
[SPEAKER_01]: to go into a situation like that.
29:00
[SPEAKER_01]: And that was a very, very difficult day to sit in the courtroom with all of them.
29:07
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, I didn't have an expectation sitting there of what their sentencing would be because it could have been up to 30 years.
29:16
[SPEAKER_01]: At the end of the day, it doesn't matter what the resistance to, it's not going to bring my son back.
29:22
[SPEAKER_01]: It's not like once they were sentenced, my son is going to walk back through my door.
29:27
[SPEAKER_01]: So it really doesn't change my life.
29:33
[SPEAKER_01]: I think that the bigger picture is that,
29:39
[SPEAKER_01]: Jordan's case is the first one in U.S. history where people have been extradited for this from Nigeria and been held accountable.
29:48
[SPEAKER_01]: And it's not the precedent for other cases because this is still happening every single day.
29:54
[SPEAKER_01]: It's not the precedent for other cases.
29:58
[SPEAKER_01]: It sends a message to be a deterrent for the people that are doing this that they aren't just face behind a screen in another country like we can go and find you and bring you here and hold you accountable for what you've done so I think all of this is it's much bigger than the the 17 and a half years, you know, the trajectory of it.
30:27
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, there are major consequences to your actions.
30:30
[SPEAKER_03]: And no matter if you're in another country, you're not safe, if you do something that they will bring in here.
30:35
[SPEAKER_03]: And I think that's like a really big message to send out there, even for people that are in our country, that there are consequences.
30:44
[SPEAKER_03]: And you just because you're not physically assaulting somebody, but that, I mean, you can't get away with it.
30:54
[SPEAKER_03]: You have kind of made it your mission to share Jordan story that's how I came across you as off of just a random I think it was even just a real that I had pop up on Facebook and then I went to TikTok to find you so Tell me a little bit about what you're doing now to tell Jordan story and to keep his you know his name out there.
31:19
[SPEAKER_01]: I was a very involved parent and Jordan nightwear super close.
31:23
[SPEAKER_01]: So immediately when I found out what had happened to Jordan, I felt like every parent needs to know about this.
31:30
[SPEAKER_01]: Every kid needs to know about it because if I didn't know, chances are, other parents had no idea that this was going on.
31:38
[SPEAKER_01]: So I
31:40
[SPEAKER_01]: use my TikTok account that Jordan set up to share his story and it has had some amazing reception it has brought conversations into homes.
31:52
[SPEAKER_01]: with her telling their children about Jordan's story.
31:57
[SPEAKER_01]: I take just about any opportunity I have to share that with people because everyone who hears it, that could be another life that saved from going through this.
32:09
[SPEAKER_01]: And it's not stopping.
32:11
[SPEAKER_01]: It's happening every single day.
32:14
[SPEAKER_01]: And they're changing some things of the scam, but it's not going away.
32:19
[SPEAKER_03]: Since you didn't know what sex dorsion was, why don't you go ahead for just my listeners, tell us what it is.
32:27
[SPEAKER_01]: Financial sex dorsion is when someone takes a photo or video of you an explicit photo or video and then they ask you for money in order to not share that with other people.
32:45
[SPEAKER_01]: It's a really effective scam.
32:49
[SPEAKER_01]: looking at it from a teenager's perspective, but also from an adult perspective, the amount of shame and embarrassment that is connected to that as a young individual can be so massive when they think about their peer seeing it or their parents seeing it.
33:08
[SPEAKER_01]: And I think it's super important for our parents to have that conversation continuously to create this
33:17
[SPEAKER_01]: you know, that it's not so sensitive.
33:19
[SPEAKER_01]: We can talk about it and feel comfortable talking about it, normalize that conversation.
33:25
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah.
33:26
[SPEAKER_03]: As far as Jordan, for him to take his life, that was something that he never struggled with, right?
33:32
[SPEAKER_03]: My point with asking this is just to show that, you know, it could happen to kind of anybody.
33:37
[SPEAKER_03]: Do you have anything that you want to add on that?
33:40
[SPEAKER_01]: Jordan was a very happy kid.
33:43
[SPEAKER_01]: He had a very supportive loving family.
33:48
[SPEAKER_01]: We were extremely closely had this whole future right in front of him, getting ready to graduate and planning the next steps of going to college.
33:59
[SPEAKER_01]: There were no signs of depression.
34:03
[SPEAKER_01]: There was nothing else that would have made me think that Jordan would take his life.
34:09
[SPEAKER_01]: And just this one conversation overnight changed everything and made him feel like there was no way out with sharing your story what has been the public's response to you I have had tremendous positive feedback from parents and educators and community members that appreciate.
34:35
[SPEAKER_01]: me talking about Jordan's story because either they didn't know about financial sex coercion or they didn't know about it and it happened to somebody that they knew and they weren't sure what to do.
34:47
[SPEAKER_01]: They weren't sure who's returned to for help in that situation.
34:52
[SPEAKER_01]: And I think it's really opened up eyes about what's happening on our kids' phones.
35:00
[SPEAKER_01]: That even though we think everything is fine and they're just watching videos or sending snaps to friends, there is a lot of bad things that can come through our children's devices.
35:14
[SPEAKER_03]: Absolutely, it's something that I'm like super terrified about and especially with everything that I do I'm exposed to a lot of the, you know, the bad stuff and the children being lowered and now this because this was something that I mean I've seen it in the media here and there, but it wasn't anything that I've actually discussed with my teenager and so this gave me the opportunity to talk to him about that.
35:35
[SPEAKER_03]: As far as parents, what would you suggest how to approach that conversation with your kids and how to educate them about this and tell me what you would suggest for them to tell their kids to do if they find themselves in this situation?
35:51
[SPEAKER_01]: I think first parents need to talk to their kids that this is happening.
36:04
[SPEAKER_01]: documentaries or other short films that you can watch as like a gateway into that conversation because I think personally showing what happened to Jordan can make it hit home a little harder.
36:17
[SPEAKER_01]: Have that conversation that if it does happen to your child, they need to reach out to someone that they trust, whether that's a parent, another family member, a teacher, they need to get help with
36:34
[SPEAKER_01]: so quickly.
36:35
[SPEAKER_01]: Also, if your child does find themselves in this situation and they've sent a photo or something, they haven't done anything wrong.
36:44
[SPEAKER_01]: They need to know that it's okay and to get an adult's help and that a photo is, it's just a photo and it's not the end of the world.
36:57
[SPEAKER_01]: Yes, it might feel embarrassing in that moment, but I promise that your life here,
37:02
[SPEAKER_01]: means more than a photo.
37:05
[SPEAKER_01]: It's okay to make mistakes.
37:07
[SPEAKER_01]: We will we will get through that.
37:10
[SPEAKER_03]: I know you mentioned there are documentaries.
37:12
[SPEAKER_03]: That's a documentary that has Jordan's story correct.
37:16
[SPEAKER_01]: Yes, there are a few pieces out there.
37:23
[SPEAKER_01]: There's a piece on Hulu.
37:25
[SPEAKER_01]: It's nightline by Hulu called sex distortion and it is about what happened to Jordan and another teenager James Woods.
37:34
[SPEAKER_01]: There's also another piece on online streaming platform called Sword and Scale.
37:40
[SPEAKER_01]: That tells Jordan's story.
37:43
[SPEAKER_01]: There's the article that was done by ESPN Bloomberg did an article about it
37:55
[SPEAKER_01]: production about social media and how it's harming our kids call camp look away, which is a really excellent piece as well.
38:04
[SPEAKER_03]: Okay.
38:04
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, I want to make sure that I include links and names to all that stuff in the description of the episode.
38:10
[SPEAKER_03]: So if anybody wants to share it with their kids or watch it, so they know how to better approach the situation.
38:16
[SPEAKER_03]: Do you know of any other online resources, like reading materials or anything like that that could help?
38:23
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has a vast amount of information online, specifically about sixth version.
38:33
[SPEAKER_01]: They also have a program called Take it Down.
38:37
[SPEAKER_01]: So if you do send an image and it ends up on the internet, you can fill this form and they can help you get that image down.
38:47
[SPEAKER_01]: The Nickmick also tracks all of these numbers.
38:50
[SPEAKER_01]: So if it does happen to you, you can report that to them.
38:54
[SPEAKER_01]: And that's really important when we look at
38:56
[SPEAKER_01]: investigating and further in cases.
38:59
[SPEAKER_03]: I see with a lot of stories as far as like children being bullied and that they take their lives and then their parents go on to kind of educate.
39:06
[SPEAKER_03]: You know, in schools, I feel like having your story in schools would be so powerful.
39:12
[SPEAKER_01]: So there actually is a law in Michigan.
39:16
[SPEAKER_01]: It's called Jordan D's law.
39:19
[SPEAKER_01]: And it's about preventing sex distortion, specifically this is for the state of Michigan.
39:25
[SPEAKER_01]: And one of the pieces of this legislation is that there has to be a relationship between law enforcement and goals to educate the kids about this.
39:38
[SPEAKER_01]: I did also read the last night that there is a bill being introduced that's gonna take it like a step further requiring schools to teach kids of a certain age about financial sex distortion.
39:52
[SPEAKER_03]: I think that's amazing.
39:53
[SPEAKER_03]: That's something that should go beyond Michigan.
39:56
[SPEAKER_03]: That should be like a nation-wide thing.
39:59
[SPEAKER_03]: If they were to pass it to the schools to make it, you know, by law, to do all that, is that something that you would hop in and tell his story to students?
40:07
[SPEAKER_01]: I 100% would love to be involved in getting that into the schools, because I think reaching out to the kids.
40:14
[SPEAKER_01]: is like our greatest defense against this right now because there are no really penalties with the tech companies, there's several pieces of legislation out there trying to hold tech companies accountable for this happening on their platforms, but I really feel like education is our greatest asset in protecting our kids right now.
40:37
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, and having that open conversation with them about, I mean, not only online safety, but now this, we talk to our kids about don't talk to strangers, you know, don't tell your address, but nobody, this is so new that we're not talking about that yet.
40:50
[SPEAKER_03]: And so you're just sharing your story, like you said, is going to help in so many ways, which is why I wanted to talk to you because I was like, this is something that I haven't ever talked about on my podcast and and everything that I do and so I think it's just
41:03
[SPEAKER_03]: There's power in social media and power in the voice and in sharing.
41:08
[SPEAKER_03]: How can people get Jordan's story out there for you and help you with your mission and awareness on this?
41:15
[SPEAKER_01]: talk about Jordan's story.
41:17
[SPEAKER_01]: If you are looking for a presentation at school, reach out to your local law enforcement.
41:24
[SPEAKER_01]: A lot of them do already have presentations ready to go on this subject matter, so that would be great to have in your school or a community event.
41:34
[SPEAKER_01]: Also, like I said, there are a lot of articles online in general about sex distortion.
41:40
[SPEAKER_01]: There are some about Jordan.
41:41
[SPEAKER_01]: There are some creators other than myself on TikTok that share stories about sex distortion.
41:48
[SPEAKER_01]: There are even some pediatricians that are talking about it.
41:53
[SPEAKER_01]: So get that information, have those conversations, and make sure that you can smell the date come to you with anything.
42:01
[SPEAKER_03]: Have you met other moms that or dads that have been in your situation?
42:06
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah.
42:07
[SPEAKER_01]: I have not necessarily in person, I get messages from parents that this has happened to their children, not necessarily that they've taken their lives, but I had many, too many messages from parents where their children have taken their lives over this, a really astounding thing to think that this is what's happening to our kids.
42:31
[SPEAKER_03]: If someone finds themselves in the unfortunate situation where find out that this is happening to their kid or their kid comes to them, where should they turn first, would it be like law enforcement, would you suggest or go to the National Center for what you had mentioned?
42:46
[SPEAKER_01]: Definitely if it's a crisis situation, I would contact 98, but go to your local law enforcement, and also report it to Nick Mack.
42:58
[SPEAKER_01]: this is what happened to Jordan, other parents reached out to me and said that it had happened to their child, but they didn't speak up about it.
43:08
[SPEAKER_01]: And so that really sat with me that someone needs to talk about it.
43:14
[SPEAKER_01]: It's happening so much that we can't keep it quiet.
43:17
[SPEAKER_01]: I know that there
43:27
[SPEAKER_03]: Absolutely.
43:28
[SPEAKER_03]: I really appreciate your time and I know it's so hard to talk about but I think Jordan and you are making a tremendous difference in the education on what's going on because it's just we hear about it here and there but it's happening so much more than what we realize and so I really really appreciate you being willing.
43:52
[SPEAKER_01]: I appreciate you for helping to share Jordan's story.
43:56
[SPEAKER_01]: I feel like every person that I talk to, whether it be a journalist or a podcast or whatever it is, you are helping to because you're putting this information in a whole other place for people to hear.
44:10
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah.
44:11
[SPEAKER_03]: Absolutely.
44:12
[SPEAKER_03]: Thank you.
44:13
[SPEAKER_03]: What an incredibly strong and courageous woman Jen is.
44:19
[SPEAKER_03]: I'm so grateful I had the chance to sit down with her and share this conversation with you all.
44:25
[SPEAKER_03]: If you've been listening to me for a while, you know that my passion behind this podcast is not just telling these stories, but using them as opportunities to learn.
44:34
[SPEAKER_03]: to reflect and to raise awareness about issues happening every single day.
44:39
[SPEAKER_03]: Financials' extortion is one of the newer scams, criminals are using to target young people, and the only way we can fight it is by talking about it more, with each other, with our kids, and within our communities.
44:54
[SPEAKER_03]: There is something really special that Jen shared with me after our recording, that I want to go ahead and pass along to you guys.
45:01
[SPEAKER_03]: The Alcatraz East Museum in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee has a display dedicated to Jordan and the issue of cyber crimes.
45:10
[SPEAKER_03]: That's definitely a museum that I would love to go and visit one day.
45:13
[SPEAKER_03]: It has been on my bucket list for several years, and if you're ever in the area, I encourage you guys to stop by and see it for yourself.
45:21
[SPEAKER_03]: For those who can't make it, Jen was kind enough to send me a photo of the display, and I'll be posting it across my social
45:30
[SPEAKER_03]: Jen also told me about the Jordan Dame hashtag I got you foundation.
45:36
[SPEAKER_03]: Even though it's still in the early stages, the foundation has already awarded more than five scholarships to student athletes who reflect the qualities that Jordan was known for.
45:46
[SPEAKER_03]: Teamwork, leadership, and strong moral character.
45:51
[SPEAKER_03]: Their biggest fundraiser each year is the Jordan Dame, 5k and 10k Run and Walk.
45:58
[SPEAKER_03]: Held annually on the first Sunday in October.
46:01
[SPEAKER_03]: This year it will take place at 10 a.m. on October 5th, 2025 at the Lakeview YMCA in Market, Michigan.
46:10
[SPEAKER_03]: For those of us who aren't local, that's okay.
46:13
[SPEAKER_03]: There is also a virtual option.
46:16
[SPEAKER_03]: Registration is $25 for the 5k and $30 for the 10k.
46:23
[SPEAKER_03]: I'll have that registration link in the episode description if you would like to sign up.
46:29
[SPEAKER_03]: I actually went ahead and registered this afternoon and I will be doing my virtual 5k here in Nevada in honor of Jordan.
46:37
[SPEAKER_03]: There's also a Facebook group that you can join called Jordan Domeh-Hashtag-Igotchew 5k Walk.
46:44
[SPEAKER_03]: I will have that link in the show notes as well.
46:47
[SPEAKER_03]: I'd love for you guys to join and leave a kind message for Jen and for everyone who loved Jordan and let them know that you heard this story on Crime with Holly.
46:57
[SPEAKER_03]: Show them that we all are listening, that we care and that we're committed to spreading awareness about financial sex distortion.
47:06
[SPEAKER_03]: Finally, I will also be linking all of the documentaries, articles, and resources mentioned during today's episode, so you guys can learn more and continue the conversation.
47:17
[SPEAKER_03]: Together by talking about stories like Jordan's, we can break the silence around financial
47:27
[SPEAKER_03]: And before I close, if you or someone you love is struggling or have thoughts of suicide, please know that help is available.
47:36
[SPEAKER_03]: In the United States, you can dial 988 to connect with the suicide and crisis hotline and talk to someone right away.
47:45
[SPEAKER_03]: You are not alone and your life matters.
47:50
[SPEAKER_03]: That is all for this week's episode.
47:51
[SPEAKER_03]: You guys until next time, be aware and take care.
47:55
[SPEAKER_03]: Bye.
48:12
[UNKNOWN]: Thank you for watching.