Nigerian National Receives 97-Month Prison Sentence for Multi-Million Dollar Inheritance Fraud in United States
A Nigerian citizen, Tochukwu Albert Nnebocha, has been handed a significant prison sentence by a United States federal court for his involvement in a sophisticated transnational inheritance fraud operation that specifically targeted elderly and vulnerable American citizens.
Details of the Elaborate Fraud Scheme
According to official documents released by the United States Department of Justice on Friday, February 6, Nnebocha and his network of co-conspirators orchestrated a complex inheritance fraud scheme that spanned more than seven years. The 44-year-old Nigerian national operated what authorities described as a lucrative transnational criminal enterprise that systematically exploited vulnerable individuals across the United States.
The fraudulent operation involved sending hundreds of thousands of personalized letters to elderly Americans, with the correspondence falsely claiming to originate from a Spanish bank representative. These letters deceitfully informed recipients that they were entitled to receive multi-million dollar inheritances from deceased family members they had never known.
How the Scam Operated and Its Financial Impact
Once victims responded to the initial contact, Nnebocha and his associates would instruct them to pay various fabricated fees before they could access their supposed inheritance. Victims were told they needed to send money for delivery charges, taxes, and other inheritance-related payments.
This systematic deception resulted in the financial exploitation of more than 400 American victims, with total losses exceeding $6 million. The scheme's transnational nature involved coordination across multiple countries, making it particularly challenging for law enforcement to dismantle.
Legal Proceedings and International Cooperation
Nnebocha's arrest occurred in Poland in April 2025, followed by his extradition to the United States in September of the same year. In November 2025, he entered a guilty plea to charges of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud.
During sentencing proceedings, the court imposed a prison term of 97 months (approximately eight years), along with three years of supervised release following incarceration. Additionally, the court ordered restitution payments totaling more than $6.8 million to compensate the numerous victims defrauded by the scheme.
Broader Investigation and Previous Convictions
This case represents the second indictment related to this particular international fraud network. Previously, eight co-conspirators from the United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal, and Nigeria had been convicted and sentenced for their roles in the same criminal enterprise.
The investigation involved multiple agencies including the United States Postal Inspection Service and Homeland Security Investigations. International cooperation played a crucial role, with assistance provided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Legal Attaché in Poland, INTERPOL, Polish authorities, the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida, and the Department of Justice's Office of International Affairs.
Senior Trial Attorney Phil Toomajian and Trial Attorney Joshua D. Rothman of the Criminal Division's Fraud Section are leading the prosecution efforts in this significant transnational fraud case.
