*The podcast may contain sensitive topics. Listener discretion is advised.This podcast is a two part series. In August 2025, the U.S. Federal Government agencies including DOJ, FBI, and IRS joined with the Los Angeles Police Department to arrest 11 members of the Hoover Criminal Street Gang for sex trafficking children and adults along the Figueroa Corridor in south Los Angeles. The individuals are facing a 31 count indictment charges as well as Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. Figueroa Corridor in Los Angeles has been a well-known area for street prostitution for many years with local officials turning a blind eye to the seriousness of the issue. Acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli is quoted as saying: “There are no meaningful consequences for their conduct under California State Law, so the federal government- aided by its local law enforcement partners- will step in to make sure these criminals face lengthy prison sentences. Today’s operation is the first step in returning the Figueroa Corridor - long know as prostitution haven – back to its residents who have suffered for too long while criminals were allowed to run amok."Multiple articles regarding this incident state that Amaya Armstead, a female, (aka “Lady Duck”) is the case’s lead defendant and the de factor leader of the group. She is accused of trafficking a 14-year-old girl. She is also accused of attacking and beating a young girl working for her, holding her down by the hair and kicking and kneeing her, while the young girl screamed she was pregnant. The young female victims were recruited by the Hoover Gang members through social media and personally. Many came from out of state and were seduced into believing they would live a life of luxury and be taken care of. Once they arrived they were drugged and forced to work long hours soliciting clients and performing commercial sext acts on the Figueroa Corridor. Million Kids applauds the efforts to take down these violent gang members who have been allowed to recruit and exploit young girls and operate in broad daylight. Until Federal Government Organizations joined with local law enforcement, it seemed few civic leaders would do what it takes to rescue the girls and prosecute hard core gang members who preyed on the most vulnerable. This seems to be a sex trafficking and money laundering case that deserves to be prosecuted under RICO.

We may be living in THE most important time in all ofhistory. Especially if you are a pastor,or Christian leader working with youth. Why? Because in 2022 the entire worldwas connected by 5G high speed internet at the same time as new technologieswere introduced including AI, geo location software, global money transfer andmass audience live streaming. This isthe first generation of young people in all of history that can reach theentire world AND at the same time the entire world can also reach them.

Nearly 5.5 billion people are online. Some are good, some arecriminals. Some are criminals that seeaccessing and seducing American teens will generate millions for their poorcountry. Our young people must understand the world they now live in. What anincredible call to leadership for the faith-based community.

It is indeed a calling. It is a time to have discussionsabout truth and how to recognize it. AI will make everything seem real. It is agreat opportunity to teach our youth to define (write down) their values. It isimportant to talk about digital morality. Some teens believe that what they do online doesn’t count because it isnot real. What about shooting a cop in a video game, is that ok?

This is a great opportunity to talk about grace andforgiveness and helping others who are victims of cyber bullying. Christian young people need to know aboutfinancial sextortion of teenagers, how it works, what it looks like and how toprotect themselves. And teens need toknow the many positive ways technology can be used to help others. For example, talk about what it might looklike to be a “cyber missionary” or creating a prayer circle with friends.

This is a great call to Christian Leadership to prepare themost important generation of kids that have ever lived, to use their knowledgeand expertise to educate and protect the next generation of siblings, cousins,friends that live in a globally connected world.

This past week we saw a story in the Associated Press with an interesting headline. “Students have been arrested for false alarms from AI surveillance." The story relates an interesting situation. It seems a 13-year-old girl made an offensive joke while chatting online with her classmates, which triggered the schools’ AI surveillance software. Everyone seemed to agree (including mother and student) that the comments were “wrong” and “stupid” but the context showed they were not a threat (per the article). The article goes on to say that “surveillance systems in American schools increasing monitor everything students write on school accounts and devices." Thousands of school districts across the country use software like Gaggle and Lightspeed Alert to track kid’s online activities, looking for signs that the students might hurt themselves and or others. The girl had been texting with friends on a chat function tied to her school email. The AI function identified the perceived threat and school authorities and law enforcement were alerted. She was arrested, spent the night in jail and strip-searched. Later the court ordered eight weeks of house arrest, a psychological evaluation and 20 days at an alternative school. There is now a law suit filed against the school. This is a fascinating case, and I welcome comments from Million Kids followers. Email Opal at info@millionkids.org or make a comment on the podcast. Since this organization combats sextortion and online exploitation, I could not help but wonder if this technology could be used if a student sends or receives CSAM or a nude or is receiving demands for money from someone. Especially if that communication is originating outside the United States. Perhaps we could save lives.The article is especially interesting to me because they laid out all of the atrocities of the situation but only at the end do they tell you that it took place two years ago. AI has changed dramatically in two years. It is my hope that there has been substantial refinement in the detection systems so that school administrators and law enforcement can sort through when a student is making a crude remark, or bad joke, and when it is the real threat and needs immediate attention. Whether we agree or disagree with AI monitoring, we also need to educate our kids that statements about causing harm, bombs, killing, guns, or threats of any kind will be taken seriously, especially if you are using a system provided by a school organization. Be sure to join us.

Romance Scams have created more than $105 BILLION dollars in losses for the year ending 2024. Almost every victim of a romance scam would have sworn that it would not happen to them. Most people think they will know if they are being taken in by someone they have never met. What few of us realize is that the predators are out there in numbers we cannot even imagine, and they are very good at making you feel special.

Romance Scams have soared because of a technological transformation that has occurred over the past three to four years. We all have heard about artificial intelligence, and it will certainly make people vulnerable online to all types of online exploitation. By using AI, cybercriminals can create images and alter voices to look like anyone to seduce you into believing they care about you. Then the blackmail begins.

Romance Scams are literally exploding in volume around the globe. It is because developing countries are now online and they have access to artificial intelligence and global money transfer. The sad reality is that the person most likely purporting to be your new love is a victim of trafficking themselves. If you are interested, you may want to go to You Tube and search for “Scam Farms”. Criminal groups in developing countries are using tens of thousands of people who have been duped by cybercriminals and are now surviving by delivering romance scams, crypto currency scams and financial sextortion scams.

If you believe that you are a victim of a romance scam, immediately take the following steps:

1. Stop all communications, shut down your device, change your privacy setting to private. Do not accept any new friends or communications as these individuals have multiple personas they utilize.

2. Tell someone immediately. I know it is hard to admit to, but it will never get better without intervention. Tell a trusted friend, a pastor, a relative, or law enforcement.

3. You can report it anonymously at 1-888-373-7888.

4. Do NOT send more money to try to get back the money you lost. It won’t help.

5. Get Counseling from a professional you trust.

6. If you want to investigate this individual, you may want to hire a private investigator that you know or has good credentials. One investigator who specializes in online investigation is Lynda Bergh Herring, a member of the Million Kids team, at LJBInvestigations.com. You are not the first victim, and you won’t be the last.

Yes, you may be hurt, embarrassed, and afraid. By reporting them, you can stop others from becoming victims. You still have the power to change the situation.

The following may contain sensitive topics, listener discretion is advised.

For the past few years, the Million Kids Team has explored the challenges related to global financial sextortion of our kids. It is truly a pandemic with many victims and many kids who pay the ultimate price. One of the discussions we have had is centered around the role that schools and educators can or should play in prevention and intervention of sextortion cases.

The discussions often center around the idea that most sextortion victims are school- age-kids and most kids get introduced to online digital activity at schools. And yet, at this writing, there is no centralized approach to intervention if a student is being blackmailed, and there is no safe haven for a young person to report when they are in a crisis. Add to this issue the fact that now, some of the students are accessing “nudify” sites and using AI to create “deepfake” images of other students. The victims of “deepfake” images also are victims of digital exploitation and it is a crime to do so.

Our first thoughts is that this is a global epidemic as developing countries come online and access our kids. The blackmail can be so extreme, most victims are severely distraught. This is a a somewhat new criminal trend and most school leadership is not prepared to deal with it. During this podcast we review the suggestions from the U.K. educators and outline the challenges for educators.

In August 2024, the Million Kids research team came across an article that discussed a case where five 8th grade boys in a Beverly Hills Middle School were expelled for creating and sharing deep fake nude photos of female classmates. In this situation, the students accessed “nudify” apps and used the software programs to super impose the faces of their classmates on images that were nude or sexual in nature.

The article indicates that this case follows a series of similar incidents involving students creating and sharing AI-generated nude photos of their fellow classmates at high schools around the world. The article went on to state that a New Jersey teen victim spoke about her experience in front of federal lawmakers in Washington, DC to advocate for a federal law criminalizing all nonconsensual sexually explicit deep fakes. No such federal law existed.

Subsequently, President Donald Trump recently signed a bill proposed by First Lady Melania Trump called the “Take it Down Act” to create federal legislation making it a crime to create a deepfake that depicts an individual’s identity but is altered to create a fake image that is nude or sexual in nature.

As our research team began to explore the situation in Beverly Hills, it was noted that the middle school students had accessed "nudify" apps that provided the software to alter real life images and create nudes, sexually explicit or pornographic images. As we researched this situation, we were all surprised to find out that there are 60 such "nudify" websites offering a wide variety of services including super imposing others facial image to anime, pornography and Hentai (anime porn). Many of these sites offer their services globally and make it easy to use and access even for middle school students.

Parents, it is important to have a conversation with any young person who has access to the Internet. Share with them that when deepfakes are created, not only is it illegal to do so, it is extremely harmful to those victimized. Now that federal laws are being implemented, the consequences for the offenders using these sites to exploit others could be life altering. It is critical that young people understand that while it may sound like fun, they are also accessing pornographic sites that gather information about the users, and they could expose themselves and their families, to individuals and organizations that will not have their best interest at heart.

Warning: This podcast explores subjects that may be sensitive to some. If you or someone you know is in crisis, contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (US) or a local mental health professional.

This podcast looks at how people in developing countries, access, groom and exploit U.S. teenagers and exploit them to the point of abuse and sometimes suicide. It is called “Financial Sextortion”, and it is one of the fastest growing crimes in the world. Now we learn that their first encounter is often with an individual who is also a victim of human trafficking.

This week Interpol released new information on the globalization of scam centers indicating that human trafficking victims have been trafficked into criminality from more than 66 countries in the world with emphasis on Southeast Asia and Africa. As an American, few of us really understand what is happening here and even more concerning, very few understand the impact that it will have on U.S. teenagers and adults looking for a relationship online.

As the entire world is now connected by 5G high speed Internet, Cartel organizations in third world countries use A.I. generated employment ads to seduce innocent poor people seeking legitimate work. Often these individuals end up on “Scam Farms” in Southeast Asia, Africa, or South America where they become human trafficking victims. The are forced to spend long hours seducing teens in the U.S., UK or Australia into sending illicit photos or perpetuating a romance scam. Once they are successful in securing an illicit image from a teen, the photo is immediately turned over to the cartel and the blackmail of a U.S. teen begins.

To date, approximately 42 outstanding teens have taken their own lives because of the brutality of “financial sextortion”. One young victim received over 1,000 texts in 24 hours demanding thousands of dollars or suggesting that he end his life. Recently in the case of Caleb Moore, his mother said it was only 35 minutes between the time that he realized that he was trapped and the criminals pressured him to take extreme measures. Our heart bleeds for the families that are left dealing with a lifetime of travesty.

At Million Kids, we believe this must change. Perhaps app companies could post “offshore” on any communication coming from outside the U.S. We need national curriculums to educate about a globally connected world and the impact of foreign national cartels and scam farms. Every young person and parent should be provided with a documentary about financial sextortion with instructions on what to do and what not to do. And there must be a safe place intervention for a young person to be able to access if they find they are in the cross hairs of global organized criminal groups.

Warning: This podcast explores the impact of suicide in the context of financial sextortion. If you are experiencing thoughts of self-harm, we encourage you to seek help—support is available. If you or someone you know is in crisis, contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (US) or a local mental health professional.

For the past two years, the team of researchers at MillionKids.org has followed the heart breaking trend where exceptionally fine young males are seduced/tricked into sending a nude, and then they are blackmailed by an overseas criminal group, and ultimately they take their own lives. It is a unique phenomenon that just tears at the soul. As we read the stories of these young men and all their dreams and hopes and plans for the future, suddenly comes to an end based on one spur of the moment decision. Million Kids is a group of connected professionals bound together by a common passion. We share the latest trends and combine our thoughts in a search for solutions. Together we have reviewed more than 40 stories of financial sextortion that came to a tragic end. We try to craft actions that can make a difference. We look for answers on how we can educate parents, teens, and school professionals about how financial sextortion works and how can we keep our kids from falling prey to it. The agonizing truth is that financial sextortion is just getting started. As the entire world became connected through 5g high speed internet, coupled with mass audience live streaming, geo location software, global money transfer, and now artificial intelligence, every third world criminal will realize that there is a gold mine in tricking and seducing America's teens. They know if they can get a young person to send a nude they can blackmail them for large sums of money. Once the image is sent, the blackmail is more brutal than anyone of us can understand until you read these heartbreaking stories. One victim received a thousand texts in 24 hours, demanding money and suggesting he should end his life. Few American families understand that our kids are on the front line of global extortion and even fewer know what to do about it. Be sure to join us.