A Nigerian national, Tochukwu Albert Nnebocha, has been sentenced to more than eight years in prison in the United States for his role in a long-running inheritance fraud scheme that targeted elderly and vulnerable Americans.
The sentencing was announced by the Office of Public Affairs at the United States Department of Justice on Saturday, February 6, 2026.
U.S. authorities said the scheme defrauded more than 400 victims of over $6 million.
The Department of Justice noted that he worked with several co-conspirators across multiple countries to carry out the fraud.
Investigators said the operation relied on deception and emotional manipulation, exploiting victims over a period of several years.
What they are saying
U.S. prosecutors said Nnebocha and his associates ran a sophisticated transnational fraud scheme designed to trick elderly individuals into believing they were entitled to large inheritances.
Court documents detailed how the conspirators used personalised communication to build trust and pressure victims into sending money.
- “Over the course of more than seven years, Nnebocha and his co-conspirators sent hundreds of thousands of personalized letters to elderly individuals in the United States, falsely claiming that the sender was a representative of a bank in Spain and that the recipient was entitled to receive a multimillion-dollar inheritance left by a deceased family member,” the Justice Department said.
- Prosecutors said victims were told they had to pay various fees, including delivery charges, taxes, and other costs, before their supposed inheritance could be released.
- “In total, the defendant and his co-conspirators defrauded over 400 U.S. victims of more than $6 million,” the statement added.
At sentencing, the court handed Nnebocha a 97-month prison term, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered him to pay more than $6.8 million in restitution to the victims.
Backstory
Nnebocha’s conviction followed a series of international law enforcement actions that spanned several countries. In April 2025, he was arrested by authorities in Poland after a request from the United States.
He was later extradited to the U.S. in September 2025 to face charges.
In November 2025, Nnebocha pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit mail fraud and wire fraud. His guilty plea paved the way for sentencing under U.S. federal law.
He is another Nigerian national to be convicted in connection with the same inheritance fraud case.
Earlier, in July 2025, Ehis Lawrence Akhimie was convicted for his role in the same scheme.
More insights
U.S. authorities said the case forms part of a broader crackdown on international fraud networks targeting American victims.
The inheritance fraud scheme involved multiple actors operating across Europe and Africa, making it one of the more complex cases handled by federal investigators.
Eight co-conspirators from the United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal, and Nigeria have already been convicted and sentenced in connection with the scheme.
The investigation was led by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and Homeland Security Investigations.
The Justice Department said its Office of International Affairs worked closely with Polish law enforcement to secure Nnebocha’s arrest and extradition.
What you should know
This is not the first time Nigerian nationals have been sentenced in the United States over large-scale fraud-related offences.
- In June 2025, a United States District Court in Sherman, Texas, sentenced five Nigerian nationals to a combined prison term of nearly 160 years.
- The five individuals were convicted for their roles in an elaborate fraud and money laundering conspiracy that targeted at least 100 victims, including individuals, companies, and government entities across several countries.
U.S. prosecutors said the scheme defrauded victims of approximately $17 million, underscoring the growing focus of American authorities on dismantling international fraud networks.
