A United States District Court has handed a 19-year prison sentence to a Nigerian national, Leslie Chinedu Mba, for orchestrating a $4 million fraud operation and attempting to secure residency through sham marriages with elderly women.
According to a statement released Friday by the US Attorney for the Southern District of Texas in Houston, Nicholas Ganjei, the court further directed that Mba be deported after completing his custodial term.
Ganjei explained that the 40-year-old, working with accomplices both within and outside the United States, executed business email compromise and romance fraud schemes over a five-year period spanning April 2018 to December 2023.
The scams deceived victims into transferring money under the impression they were paying legitimate companies.
Ganjei said, “From April 2018 to December 2023, Mba and others inside and outside of the United States carried out business email compromise and romance scams targeting unsuspecting victims.
“The schemes began overseas, where co-conspirators gained unauthorised access to business email accounts and redirected payments to fraudulent bank accounts.
“Victims believed they were sending money to legitimate businesses, but Mba and others instead funnelled the funds to accounts they controlled.
“Mba and others acted as money mules, opening or using existing bank accounts to collect and move proceeds from the fraud.”
Authorities disclosed that the coordinated scheme caused losses exceeding $4 million.
The US attorney also revealed that after previously being denied residency, Mba sought to legalise his stay in the country by entering into multiple fraudulent marriages.
He said Mba pleaded guilty to the charges filed against him in December 2025 and was subsequently scheduled for sentencing.
“Leslie Chinedu Mba pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit false statements in immigration documents on December 4, 2025.
“U.S. District Judge David Hittner has now ordered Mba to serve 228 months in federal prison. As he is not a U.S. citizen, he is expected to face removal proceedings following his imprisonment. At the hearing, the court heard that victims were defrauded of over $4 million.”
The statement noted that four additional individuals had earlier admitted guilt in connection with the same fraud ring.
“Four others had also previously pleaded guilty — Grace Morisho, 30, Rodgers Kadikilo, 30, Kristin Smith, 38, and Alexandra Golovko, 36, all of Houston.
“Morisho, Kadikilo, and Smith received sentences ranging between 15 and 25 months, while Golovko received five years’ probation,” Ganjei stated.
Mba’s conviction adds to the list of Nigerians found guilty of criminal offences in the United States.
PUNCH Online reports that at least 113 Nigerians convicted of various crimes are slated for deportation as part of the immigration enforcement measures introduced under former President Donald Trump.
