Adebola Festus Adekunle, 26, and Mudasiru Afeez Olawale, 24, were extradited from Nigeria on August 27 after being arrested there in August 2023. Prosecutors say the cases are part of Operation Artemis, an FBI-led surge targeting financially motivated sextortion rings operating from Nigeria.

Separate cases in Mississippi and North Carolina

Adekunle faces federal charges in the Northern District of Mississippi related to the alleged sextortion of a Mississippi minor whose death prosecutors say followed the conduct. The indictment includes allegations of sexual exploitation of a minor resulting in death, production of child sexual abuse material, coercion and enticement of a minor, and interstate threats with intent to extort.

Adekunle appeared for an initial hearing in federal court in Oxford, Mississippi, on August 28. The U.S. Attorney’s Office said he faces up to life in prison, and that the sexual-exploitation charge involving death carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years if he is found guilty.

Olawale faces separate charges in North Carolina involving two alleged victims. Prosecutors say the case includes the financially motivated sextortion of one minor and the alleged sextortion and death of another North Carolina teenager. His indictment includes offenses related to sexual exploitation of minors, coercion and enticement of minors, distribution of child sexual abuse material and interstate threatening communications.

Olawale appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge L. Patrick Auld in federal court in Greensboro on August 28. The North Carolina case is being investigated by the FBI Charlotte field office’s Greensboro Resident Agency and the Surry County Sheriff’s Office.

International cooperation behind the extraditions

The Justice Department said the transfers involved its Office of International Affairs, the FBI Legal Attaché in Abuja and FBI agents from the Jackson and Greensboro areas who traveled to Nigeria and took the men into U.S. custody.

Nigerian authorities also assisted, including the country’s attorney general and minister of justice, the Federal Ministry of Justice’s International Criminal Justice Cooperation Department and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

DOJ described Operation Artemis as an ongoing surge against financially motivated sextortion rings. The agency said the broader effort is intended to identify and prosecute offenders who target American minors from abroad. DOJ also said the schemes it is pursuing have been directly linked to dozens of American teen deaths by suicide; that is an agency characterization, not a comprehensive national mortality count.

The national prevention stakes

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children’s 2025 CyberTipline data said it received more than 80,000 reports concerning sextortion within the broader category of online enticement. NCMEC said financial-sextortion reports averaged 137 per day, a 37% increase from the previous year, and that it is aware of at least three dozen teenage boys in the United States who died by suicide after being victimized. NCMEC’s figure is an awareness count, not a complete national total.

The FBI says financial sextortion can begin when an offender uses a fake account, a flirtatious message, an offer of money or game credits, or a direct threat to obtain explicit material. The offender then demands money or gift cards and may threaten to release the material even after payment.

What families should do

The FBI says young people being exploited are victims of a crime and should report it. Families should encourage immediate disclosure, preserve messages, usernames, payment records and other evidence, and report the account to the platform. After preserving evidence, blocking the offender can help stop continued contact.

Reports can be made to local law enforcement, a local FBI field office or the FBI’s online tip system at tips.fbi.gov. For minors, NCMEC’s Take It Down service can help remove or limit the spread of explicit images created before the person turned 18.

The federal cases will now proceed in court. The charges are allegations, and both defendants are presumed innocent unless prosecutors prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Sources

• U.S. Department of Justice extradition announcement
• NCMEC 2025 CyberTipline data
• FBI sextortion guidance