The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has said over $65 million was lost by Americans over the past two years due to financially motivated sextortion crimes allegedly orchestrated by Nigerian nationals.
This was disclosed in a statement issued on April 24, 2025 by the agency.
FBI said that both personnel and resources have been deployed to Nigeria to tackle the alarming rise in suicides tied to sextortion schemes involving Nigerian crooks.
According to the FBI, 22 suspects have been taken into custody in Nigeria in connection with these crimes.
“The FBI conducted a first-of-its-kind global operation to address the dangerous rise in American suicides attributed to this crime,” the FBI said.
“In coordination with multiple law enforcement partners, the FBI carried out Operation Artemis—a surge of resources and personnel sent to Nigeria to address the high number of suicides related to sextortion crimes linked to Nigerian offenders.
“As a result of Operation Artemis, FBI investigations led to the arrests of 22 Nigerian individuals involved in financially motivated sextortion schemes,” the agency added. “Over the last two years, nearly $65 million in financial losses have been attributed to this crime.”
Of the 22 arrested, the FBI revealed that around half were directly associated with victims who took their own lives as a result of the extortion.
FBI Director Kash Patel stressed that this operation represents an important step in the fight against child exploitation, aiming to bring justice to international criminals hiding behind digital screens.
“Operation Artemis exemplifies the FBI’s never-ending mission to protect our most vulnerable, and to pursue the heinous criminals harming our children—no matter where they hide,” Patel said.
The FBI explained that the suspects arrested in the operation employed sophisticated sextortion tactics, luring victims through social media platforms by pretending to be peers or potential romantic partners.
“Once trust was built, often through chatrooms or direct messages, the offenders coerced victims into taking and sharing compromising images,” the agency noted. “The suspects then threatened to release these photos unless they received immediate payment, usually requested via gift cards, mobile payment systems, wire transfers, or cryptocurrency.”
Even if the victims complied with payment demands, the FBI stated that offenders often continued to manipulate their victims, leaving them feeling humiliated, isolated, and responsible for their exploitation.
In addition to FBI personnel, law enforcement partners from Canada, Australia, Nigeria, and the United Kingdom took part in the operation. The arrests follow a 30% increase in sextortion-related tips received by the FBI’s National Threat Operations Center between October 2024 and March 2025, compared to the same period the year before.
According to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), over 54,000 people were victimized in 2024, a sharp increase from the 34,000 victims reported in 2023.
The agency also noted a disturbing trend of financially motivated sextortion crimes targeting young males, aged 14 to 17, which has led to over 20 minor suicides in recent years. This prompted nationwide investigations aimed at providing answers and closure for American families affected by the tragedy.
“As investigations progressed, it became clear that many of the perpetrators were based in Nigeria, broadening the international scope of these crimes,” the FBI said.
One Nigerian man was extradited to the U.S. in January and charged with causing the death of a teenager in South Carolina, while two others were extradited last year in connection with the death of a young man in Pennsylvania due to sextortion.
The FBI stated that these suspects would be held accountable in the U.S. legal system, with additional individuals still awaiting extradition in Nigeria.
The agency also urged parents to have ongoing discussions with their children and teenagers about the dangers of online activity. The FBI reminded the public that an indictment is only an allegation, and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.
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