US court jails Nigerian man over $6m inheritance fraud
U.S. Court Sentences Nigerian National to Eight Years for Inheritance Fraud Scheme
A federal court in the United States has sentenced Tochukwu Albert Nnebocha, a 44-year-old Nigerian national, to eight years in prison for his involvement in a transnational inheritance fraud operation that affected over 400 elderly and vulnerable Americans, defrauding them of more than $6 million.
According to a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Nnebocha was convicted of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud as part of a scheme that spanned more than seven years. The operation involved a network that disseminated hundreds of thousands of personalized letters to potential victims, falsely asserting that they were entitled to inheritances worth millions.
Court documents revealed that these letters typically claimed to originate from representatives of a Spanish bank, informing recipients that a deceased relative had bequeathed them a significant inheritance. Victims were instructed to pay various fees—purportedly for delivery, taxes, and other charges—to access the nonexistent funds.
At sentencing, the court issued a 97-month prison term for Nnebocha. Following his release, he will face three years of supervised parole and is required to pay more than $6.8 million in restitution to his victims.
Authorities reported that Nnebocha was arrested in Poland in April 2025 and later extradited to the United States in September of the same year. He pleaded guilty in November 2025.
The DOJ indicated that this case marks the second indictment related to this international fraud network, which has already resulted in the conviction and sentencing of eight co-conspirators from the United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal, and Nigeria.
