The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) says it has arrested 22 Nigerians for allegedly being connected to financially motivated sextortion schemes that have led to a rise in suicides among American teenagers.
In a statement released on its official website, the FBI said the suspects were arrested during a first-of-its-kind global operation in collaboration with law enforcement agencies from Nigeria, Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom (UK).
Out of the 22 suspects arrested, the FBI said, “approximately half were directly linked to victims who took their own lives”.
The US agency said it has observed a 30 percent increase in sextortion-related tips between October 2024 and March 2025 compared to the previous year.
“According to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center or IC3, there were over 54,000 victims in 2024, up from 34,000 in 2023,” the statement reads.
“Over the last two years, there have been nearly $65 million in financial losses due to this crime.
“Most of the victims are boys aged 14 to 17, and more than 20 minor victims have died by suicide.
“Given the alarming rise and similarities of these cases, the FBI opened investigations across the country with the goal of bringing answers and closure to grieving American families.
“Information gathered by the FBI’s Child Exploitation Operational Unit (CEOU) allowed the FBI to work collaboratively with all 55 of our field offices to identify nearly 3,000 victims of financially motivated sextortion.
“It was during these investigative steps that the commonality of perpetrators residing in Nigeria began to grow and paint a larger, more international scope of this crime.”
According to the FBI, the Nigerian suspects arrested during the operation codenamed “Operation Artemis” allegedly posed as young women on social media, building trust with teenage boys before coercing them into sharing explicit content.
The agency said the perpetrators would then demand payment via gift cards, mobile payments, or cryptocurrency while threatening to make public the content, adding that in many cases, the harassment continued even after money was paid, leaving victims ashamed and hopeless.
“As a result of Operation Artemis, a Nigerian man was extradited to the U.S. in January and charged with causing the death of a South Carolina teenager who took his own life after being extorted by the suspect posing as a woman,” the FBI said.
“Additionally, two men were extradited from Nigeria to the United States last year to face charges related to the sextortion and death of a young man in Pennsylvania. These subjects will now be held accountable in the American justice system, with more subjects still awaiting extradition in Nigeria.”
Kash Patel, FBI director, said, “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.”
“This operation highlights the critical need for international cooperation to address this growing threat, and it’s a fight we can’t take on without our valued partners across the globe.
“We hope this message encourages parents and guardians to continue to educate their children about online safety and serves as a reminder of the FBI’s relentless pursuit of keeping our children safe.”
