A Nigerian national, Tochukwu Albert Nnebocha, has been sentenced in the United States to 97 months’ imprisonment (over eight years) for his role in a transnational inheritance fraud scheme that defrauded more than 400 elderly and vulnerable Americans of over $6 million.
The sentencing, announced by the U.S. Department of Justice on February 6, 2026, also included three years of supervised release and restitution of $6.8 million to victims.
According to court records, Nnebocha and his co‑conspirators operated across multiple countries, sending hundreds of thousands of personalised letters over seven years. Victims were deceived into believing they were entitled to multimillion‑dollar inheritances from fictitious estates, but were required to pay “fees” such as taxes and delivery charges before receiving the supposed funds.
The scheme was described as a sophisticated transnational fraud network, with conspirators based in Nigeria, Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom. Eight co‑conspirators have already been convicted.
Nnebocha was arrested in Poland in April 2025 following a U.S. request, extradited in September 2025, and pleaded guilty in November 2025 to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. His conviction forms part of a broader crackdown by U.S. authorities on international fraud networks targeting American citizens.
The Justice Department highlighted that similar convictions of Nigerian nationals have occurred recently, including a June 2025 case in Texas where five individuals were sentenced to nearly 160 years combined for fraud and money laundering schemes amounting to $17 million.
