FBI: US lost $65 million in 2 years due to sextortion crimes attributed to Nigerians 

This was revealed in a statement on April 24, as the FBI announced that resources and personnel have already been deployed to Nigeria to address the increasing rate of sextortion-related suicides linked to Nigerian perpetrators.

According to the agency, 22 suspects have been arrested in Nigeria.

“The FBI conducted a first-of-its-kind global operation to address the dangerous rise in American suicides attributed to this crime. 

“In coordination with multiple law enforcement partners, 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. 

“ As a result of Operation Artemis, FBI investigations led to the arrests of 22 Nigerian subjects connected to financially motivated sextortion schemes.” 

“ Over the last two years, there have been nearly $65 million dollars in financial losses due to this crime,” the FBI stated. 

The FBI revealed that, of the 22 suspects, approximately half were allegedly directly linked to victims who took their own lives.

FBI Director Kash Patel stated that the operation marked a significant step in the fight against child exploitation and aimed to bring justice and accountability to international perpetrators hiding 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,” the official stated. 

 “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,” it added. 

According to the statement, the FBI and partners from Canada, Australia, Nigeria, and the United Kingdom conducted a first-of-its-kind operation in Nigeria that resulted in the arrest of 22 Nigerian suspects.

This announcement came as the FBI reported a 30% increase in sextortion-related tips received at its National Threat Operations Center from October 2024 to March 2025, compared to the previous year.

According to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), there were over 54,000 victims in 2024, up from 34,000 in 2023.

“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,” the statement added. 

“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,” the statement added.