The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) has confirmed the extradition of Tochuwku Nnebocha, a 43-year-old Nigerian, from Poland to face federal charges linked to a multimillion-dollar inheritance fraud scheme targeting elderly Americans.
In a statement released Monday on its official website, the DOJ said Nnebocha made his initial court appearance in Miami, Florida, after being arrested in April 2025 by Polish authorities based on an indictment filed in the Southern District of Florida. He had remained in custody in Poland until his extradition.
The Fraud Scheme
According to court filings, Nnebocha and his accomplices orchestrated an elaborate inheritance scam that ran for more than five years. Victims—primarily elderly Americans—received personalised letters falsely claiming they were heirs to multimillion-dollar estates from deceased relatives in Spain.
The fraudulent letters instructed recipients to pay delivery fees, taxes, and other charges to secure their supposed inheritance, warning them of potential questioning by authorities if they failed to comply.
The DOJ explained:
“Victims who sent money never received any inheritance funds. Instead, their payments were funnelled through a complex network of U.S.-based intermediaries—many of them former victims—who were manipulated into forwarding money to the defendants or their associates.”
Charges and Possible Sentence
Nnebocha faces multiple counts of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, along with substantive charges of mail and wire fraud. If convicted, he could serve up to 20 years in federal prison. A U.S. district judge will determine his sentence in line with federal guidelines and statutory factors.
Co-Conspirators Already Jailed
The DOJ noted that two co-defendants—Okezie Bonaventure Ogbata, extradited from Portugal, and Ehis Lawrence Akhimie, extradited from the United Kingdom—have already pleaded guilty and are each serving 97-month prison terms for their roles in the scheme.
Wider Crackdown on Fraud Schemes
The DOJ stressed that the case reflects its broader efforts to combat financial crimes that exploit vulnerable populations, especially seniors. The statement highlighted that scams such as romance fraud, lottery fraud, tech support fraud, and grandparent scams remain major threats to older Americans.
“These confidence schemes exploit the vulnerability of seniors and often result in devastating financial losses,” the DOJ said.
Romance scams lure victims through fake relationships to extort money.
Lottery scams trick victims into paying non-existent fees for fake prizes.
Tech support scams convince victims that their devices are compromised.
Grandparent scams exploit family bonds to coerce emergency payments.
International Collaboration
The DOJ credited the successful extradition to cooperation between multiple agencies, including the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs, the FBI’s Legal Attaché in Poland, INTERPOL, Polish law enforcement, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida.
Senior Trial Attorney Phil Toomajian and Trial Attorney Josh Rothman of the Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch are leading the prosecution.
The DOJ concluded:
“This extradition underscores our commitment to holding perpetrators accountable, no matter where they operate, and to protecting seniors from fraudulent schemes that devastate lives.”
Related Case
In a similar development, Chukwuemeka Amachukwu, a 39-year-old Nigerian residing in France, was also extradited to the United States earlier this year to face charges of computer hacking, fraud, and identity theft in New York.
