A United States federal court has sentenced Tochukwu Albert Nnebocha, a 44-year-old Nigerian national, to 97 months (over eight years) in prison for his role in a long-running inheritance fraud scheme that targeted elderly and vulnerable Americans.
According to the US Department of Justice (DOJ), Nnebocha was part of a transnational criminal network that operated for more than seven years, sending hundreds of personalised letters to victims across the United States. The letters falsely claimed the recipients were entitled to multi-million-dollar inheritances from deceased relatives.
Victims were instructed to pay various upfront charges—described as delivery fees, taxes, and administrative costs—before they could access the supposed inheritance. In reality, no such funds existed.
The DOJ said the scheme defrauded more than 400 victims, resulting in losses exceeding $6 million.
“The conspirators told victims they needed to send money for delivery fees, taxes, and other costs before they could receive the inheritance. This scheme exploited vulnerable people across the United States for financial gain,” the DOJ stated.
Nnebocha was arrested in Poland in April 2025 following international investigations and was extradited to the United States in September 2025. He later pleaded guilty in November 2025 to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud.
In addition to the prison sentence, the court ordered three years of supervised release and restitution of more than $6.8 million to compensate victims.
The DOJ noted that this case is the second conviction linked to the international fraud network, with eight other co-conspirators from Nigeria, the United Kingdom, Spain, and Portugal already convicted.
The investigation involved multiple agencies, including the US Postal Inspection Service, Homeland Security Investigations, INTERPOL, the FBI Legal Attaché in Poland, and Polish law enforcement authorities.
The case was prosecuted by Senior Trial Attorney Phil Toomajian and Trial Attorney Joshua D. Rothman of the DOJ’s Criminal Division.
Published by Ejoh Caleb
