The United States Department of Justice on Monday said that Tochukwu Nnebocha, a 43-year-old Nigerian, has been extradited from the Republic of Poland to face federal charges for operating a transnational criminal organisation that defrauded elderly Americans of millions of dollars.
The DOJ disclosed this in a statement issued and posted on its website on Monday.
According to the DOJ’s statement, Nnebocha made his initial appearance in federal court in Miami, Florida, following his arrest in April 2025 by Polish authorities based on an indictment filed in the Southern District of Florida.
He has remained in custody in Poland since his arrest.
The court documents obtained by the DOJ stated that Nnebocha is charged with operating an inheritance fraud scheme spanning more than five years.
He and his accomplices allegedly sent personalised letters to elderly consumers in the U.S., falsely claiming that the recipients were entitled to multimillion-dollar inheritances from deceased relatives in Spain.
It was said that victims were instructed to pay delivery fees, taxes, or other payments to avoid questioning by government authorities before they could receive their supposed inheritance.
“Victims who sent money never received any of the purported inheritance funds.
“The payments were routed through a complex network of US-based former victims, who were manipulated into forwarding money to the defendants or their associates,” DOJ stated.
Nnebocha faces charges including conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, as well as mail and wire fraud. If convicted, he could face a maximum prison sentence of 20 years.
A federal district court judge will determine his sentence after considering the US Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Two other defendants, Okezie Bonaventure Ogbata, extradited from Portugal, and Ehis Lawrence Akhimie, extradited from the United Kingdom, have previously pleaded guilty and were sentenced to 97 months in prison for their roles in the scheme.
The DOJ highlighted the case as part of ongoing efforts to protect American seniors from domestic and foreign scams, including romance fraud, lottery fraud, tech support fraud, and grandparent scams.
“These confidence schemes exploit the vulnerability of seniors and often result in significant financial losses,” the statement added.
In romance fraud, perpetrators feign romantic interest to extract money or property from victims. Lottery fraud schemes convince victims they have won prizes in non-existent lotteries to collect fake fees.
Tech support scams involve tricking victims into believing their devices are infected or broken, while grandparent scams exploit familial trust to coerce victims into sending emergency funds.
Senior Trial Attorney and Transnational Criminal Litigation Coordinator Phil Toomajian, alongside Trial Attorney Josh Rothman of the Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch, are prosecuting the case.
According to the DOJ, the investigation involved collaboration with the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, the Federal Bureau of Investigation Legal Attaché in Poland, INTERPOL, and Polish authorities.
“This extradition underscores our commitment to holding perpetrators accountable, no matter where they operate, and to safeguarding seniors from fraudulent schemes that can devastate lives,” the DOJ statement said.
Nnebocha’s extradition marks another chapter in the US government’s crackdown on transnational fraud, particularly schemes targeting vulnerable populations abroad and within the United States.
A Nigerian man residing in France, Chukwuemeka Amachukwu, was extradited to the United States to face charges of computer hacking, fraud, and identity theft.
The 39-year-old was arrested in France and extradited to New York at the request of the United States.
The PUNCH
