The FBI and partners from Canada, Australia, Nigeria, and the United Kingdom have conducted a first-of-its kind operation to combat financially motivated sextortion schemes in Nigeria that resulted in the arrest of 22 Nigerian suspects.
In coordination with multiple law enforcement partners, including Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the FBI conducted Operation Artemis — a surge of resources and personnel to Nigeria to address the high rate of sextortion related suicides attributed to Nigerian perpetrators, reports Saturday Guardian.
Of the 22 subjects, approximately half were directly linked to victims who took their own lives. This operation marks a significant step in the fight against child exploitation to bring justice and accountability to international perpetrators hiding anonymously behind 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.
“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,” said FBI Director, Kash Patel.
This announcement comes as the FBI has observed a 30 per cent increase in sextortion-related tips received to their National Threat Operations Centre from October 2024 to March 2025 as compared to the previous year.
According to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Centre or IC3, there were over 54,000 victims in 2024, up from 34,000 in 2023. Over the last two years, there have been nearly $65 million dollars in financial losses due to this crime. This comes as the FBI began observing a significant increase over the last three years in financially motivated sextortion schemes targeting young males aged 14-17, resulting in more than 20 minor victims dying by suicide.
The FBI said: “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 its 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.
“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.
“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 extraditions in Nigeria.
“The subjects arrested in this operation engaged in sophisticated, financially motivated sextortion schemes by contacting victims via social media platforms and posing as peers or potential romantic interests. Once trust or rapport was established, often through conversation in chatrooms or direct messages, the suspects coerced their victims into taking and sharing compromising images of themselves.
“Offenders then threatened to release the compromising photos unless they received immediate payment — typically requested via gift cards, mobile payment services, wire transfers, or cryptocurrency.
“Regardless of a payment being received or not, the perpetrators would often continue to manipulate their victims, leaving them feeling ashamed, isolated, and responsible.
“Operation Artemis was spearheaded by multiple units at the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division, including CEOU and the Crimes and Crimes Against Children Human Trafficking Intelligence Unit, and across the globe at the FBI Legal Attaché offices in Abuja and Lagos.
“The FBI’s Victim Outreach Support and Strategy Programme of the Victim Services Division also played a key role assisting victims’ families throughout these various investigations.
“The following FBI field offices also provided resources directly on the ground in Nigeria, as well as invaluable investigative support and assistance: FBI Atlanta, Charlotte, Columbia, Houston, Jackson, Milwaukee, Nashville, Newark, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Richmond, San Diego, and St. Louis.
“Additionally, our partners at the Department of Justice Child Exploitation Obscenities Section served a critical role in ensuring the perpetrators in these cases face charges.”
