NewStats: 3,261,704 , 8,174,844 topics. Date: Friday, 30 May 2025 at 08:31 AM 2b64y

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 able 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.”

https://www.thecable.ng/fbi-arrests-22-nigerians-in-sextortion-scams-linked-to-rising-us-teen-suicides/

Others are exporting technology, raw materials and finished goods but Nigerian youths are exporting crime because they want to live large and flex/ball in clubs etc

Wow, 22?
These ones too will be on social media complaining about how Nigerian political leaders are the problem of Nigeria. How bad they are and you know what....
The leaders and the rest of the population are all corrupt, until we accept that, we.are.just fooling ourselves.

Idiots, they've taken scam as full time job.
Always ranting school na scam online
Always flaunting stolen money online to intimidate hardworking people.

FBI has taken a tough stance on these sextortion scams. In fact, they sent a delegate team that is currently in Lagos, Nigeria to collaborate with local law enforcement on the investigations and arrests.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00ROmDzzzHw

Na wa o

Who do we blame? The government, bad parenting or the society 🤔

R.I.P to the dead...this is so sad. Hope that man that says PO should stop demarketing Nigeria can come and see another story marketing Nigeria

Fast life

Yahoo no be hustle. Na tiff you be.

They learnt those from Tinubu

I don't know who's to share the lion's blame between the perpetrators and the victims. Obviously, the victims aren't just gullible but extremely foolish because what's so hard in following the golden rule of online dating: 'Never send money to anyone you've never met physically'

Please send them back to rot in Nigerian jails.

Sextortion, which scam is that again... Naija sha. Innovative in weird crimes. Neway, am not surprised. It's not there is good governance and ability...

SatoshiX:
Yahoo no be hustle. Na tiff you be.

yeah true but Sapa na big crime! If you can successfully do it without getting caught then you won poverty

Fraud and scam is in our DNA.

adebowales:
yeah true but Sapa na big crime! If you can successfully do it without getting caught then you won poverty

EFCC liked this post.

Snotat:
Idiots, they've taken scam as full time job.
Always ranting school na scam online
Always flaunting stolen money online to intimidate hardworking people.

Are they emulating the politicians who we allow to steal money from us instead of making primary, vocational and secondary schools free for all children with adequate teachers, librarians, lab technicians, s, coaches etc

Why do we allow such politicians to emerge from among us into leadership lootership positions?

SatoshiX:
Yahoo no be hustle. Na tiff you be.

Worse than Anini. Criminals forming smartness.

Treasure17:

EFCC liked this post.

lol but seriously am not a yahoo boy. But I really just know that poverty is really a bad thing

SpatialKing:
They learnt those from Tinubu

The Chicago drug dealer who paid for his crimes to avoid jail

adebowales:
lol but seriously am not a yahoo boy

But you are stylishly encouraging it.

Not excusing those idiotic Yahoo boys though.

What about the crimes perpetrated through digital investment platform by your people? Cleaning up hundreds of millions of dollars via crypto and all manner of so called trading online and all that bullshit. When will you guys investigate and bring those criminals living amongst you to book?
No be to dey tag other nationals criminal and pretending that your out people are always the victims, when we also suffer from criminal elements from your end.
Is a two way thing

PDPdestroyer:
99.99% of them will have this shape of head

Hahahaha. Yam heads

Parydelegate:
Na wa o

Who do we blame? The government, bad parenting or the society 🤔

R.I.P to the dead...this is so sad. Hope that man that says PO should stop demarketing Nigeria can come and see another story marketing Nigeria

How about individual responsibility. Let's first blame the evil Nigeria scammer who delights in stealing destroying lives and families.

why 22 yrs dey FIND LOVE , and SPEND that MUCH on LOVE, those at 40s nko wey be bachelors?

Treasure17:

But you are stylishly encouraging it.

this country is really something else, am not against yahoo but what am against are those who + it

Islie:

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 able 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.”
https://www.thecable.ng/fbi-arrests-22-nigerians-in-sextortion-scams-linked-to-rising-us-teen-suicides/

While I strongly empathize with the parents of these 20 American teenagers who allegedly committed suicide from these sextortion scams (leading to nearly 65 millions USD loses over the last two years alone to these highly IRRESPONSIBLE scammers), those kids themselves are NOT blameless because they got actively enmeshed themselves in these online sex acts leading to the blackmail through relentless extortions by these highly IRRESPONSIBLE scammers posing as women through social media.

As emphasized in the FOX news report which I watched a few days ago right BELOW, kids have to learn to report these cases to their parents and not be ashamed. Parents have to be more open in listening actively to the needs and concerns of their kids as well.

Fortunately, there's been a massive drop in this international sextortion cases in St.Louis and other U.S. cities due to American parents taking individual actions to engage with their kids.


St. Louis FBI agents participate in sextortion ring bust in Nigeria

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00ROmDzzzHw
Fox 2 St. Louis

We know them. The Difelopas