Scammers Extract $6,000,000 From Hundreds of Americans in Massive Inheritance Fraud Scheme: DOJ

A Nigerian national spearheaded an inheritance scheme that drained more than $6 million from hundreds of Americans, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Prosecutors say 44-year-old Tochukwu Albert Nnebocha and his co-conspirators operated a transnational crime ring targeting vulnerable US citizens.

They say Nnebocha’s crime organization sent hundreds of thousands of letters to elderly Americans claiming to represent a bank from Spain holding a multimillion-dollar inheritance from a dead family member they are entitled to.

The bad actors would tell their victims that in order to receive the inheritance, they would need to pay taxes and delivery fees.

Of course, the victims would never receive any form of inheritance. Using these tactics, the group was able to defraud more than 400 victims.

Nnebocha was caught in Poland and extradited to the US.

He pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit mail fraud and wire fraud in November 2025 and was sentenced to 97 months in prison, three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $6.8 million in restitution to his victims.

Eight of his co-conspirators have already been convicted and sentenced for their roles in the scam.

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