Alleged Architect of Inheritance Scam Faces Up to 20 Years in Prison for Defrauding American Seniors
A Nigerian national, Tochuwku Albert Nnebocha, 43, was extradited from the Republic of Poland and made his initial appearance in federal court in Miami yesterday to face charges connected to a transnational criminal organization that allegedly cheated numerous American seniors out of their savings through an elaborate inheritance fraud scheme.
Nnebocha is charged with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, as well as mail fraud and wire fraud. He had been incarcerated in Poland since his arrest in April 2025, which was based on an indictment filed in the Southern District of Florida.
According to court documents, Nnebocha and his co-conspirators operated the inheritance fraud scheme for more than five years. The scheme involved sending personalized letters to elderly consumers in the U.S. that falsely claimed the recipient was entitled to a multi-million-dollar inheritance left by a deceased family member in Spain, and that the sender was a representative of a Spanish bank.
The victims were then allegedly told they had to send money for “delivery fees, taxes, and payments to avoid questioning from government authorities” before they could receive their supposed inheritance. Victims funneled money to the defendants through a complex network of U.S.-based individuals—often former victims themselves—who were convinced to receive and forward the fraud proceeds. Victims who sent money never received any inheritance funds.
Nnebocha made his initial court appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Enjolique Lett. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison.
This case is part of a broader Justice Department initiative to protect American seniors from both domestic and foreign-based scams, which include other schemes like romance fraud, lottery fraud, and grandparent scams.
The investigation is being conducted by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Two additional defendants in the case, Okezie Bonaventure Ogbata (extradited from Portugal) and Ehis Lawrence Akhimie (extradited from the United Kingdom), previously pleaded guilty and were each sentenced by U.S. District Judge Roy K. Altman to 97 months of incarceration for their roles in the scheme.
The prosecution team includes Senior Trial Attorney Phil Toomajian and Trial Attorney Josh Rothman of the Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch. Critical assistance for the extradition was provided by the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, the FBI Legal Attache in Poland, INTERPOL, and Polish Authorities.
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