Inheritance Fraud Ringleader Jailed for Eight Years

A Nigerian national has been sentenced to more than eight years in prison for orchestrating a sophisticated multimillion-dollar inheritance fraud scheme that targeted elderly and vulnerable victims across the United States. The case highlights the continued threat posed by transnational advance fee fraud networks and the importance of coordinated international enforcement action.

Tochukwu Albert Nnebocha, 44, was sentenced to 97 months’ imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, after pleading guilty in November 2025 to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud. He was also ordered to pay more than $6.8 million in restitution.

According to court documents, Nnebocha and his co-conspirators operated a years-long transnational inheritance fraud scheme that exploited elderly Americans through deception and psychological manipulation. Over a period exceeding seven years, the network sent hundreds of thousands of personalised letters falsely claiming to represent a bank in Spain. The letters informed recipients that they were entitled to receive a multimillion-dollar inheritance from a deceased relative.

Victims were instructed to pay advance fees to cover purported delivery costs, taxes and other fabricated administrative expenses before the inheritance could be released. In reality, no such inheritance existed. More than 400 victims were defrauded of over $6 million.

Nnebocha was arrested in Poland in April 2025 and extradited to the United States in September 2025 following coordinated efforts by the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs OIA and Polish authorities. Eight co-conspirators from the United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal and Nigeria have previously been convicted and sentenced in related proceedings. This marks the second indicted case connected to the wider fraud network.

The investigation was led by the U S Postal Inspection Service USPIS and Homeland Security Investigations HSI. Prosecutors from the Department of Justice Criminal Division’s Fraud Section led the case, with significant support from OIA, the U S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, the Federal Bureau of Investigation Legal Attache in Poland, INTERPOL and Polish law enforcement partners.

The case underscores the persistent risk posed by cross-border advance fee fraud schemes and the critical role of international cooperation in securing arrests, extraditions and asset recovery. For compliance professionals and financial institutions, it reinforces the need for robust fraud detection frameworks, enhanced customer vulnerability safeguards and effective cross-border intelligence sharing.

The Department of Justice continues to encourage victims aged 60 or older to report financial fraud through the National Elder Fraud Hotline. Early reporting can significantly improve the prospects of asset recovery and support coordinated enforcement action against organised fraud networks.

Read the press release here.