A Nigerian man has been extradited from Poland to the United States (U.S.) to face federal charges in an inheritance fraud scheme that prosecutors say defrauded elderly Americans out of millions of dollars.
Authorities said Tochuwku Albert Nnebocha, 43, appeared in federal court in Miami and could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
According to prosecutors, Nnebocha ran a transnational operation that for more than five years sent personalized letters to seniors across the U.S., falsely claiming they were heirs to multimillion-dollar estates in Spain.
Victims were instructed to pay fees, taxes, and other charges to access the supposed inheritance.
Instead, the funds were routed to Nnebocha and his associates, often through U.S.-based former victims.
Court documents show that the scheme defrauded scores of Americans. Nnebocha faces conspiracy, mail fraud, and wire fraud charges.
Two co-defendants have already pleaded guilty and were sentenced to 97 months in prison each by U.S. District Judge Roy K. Altman.
“This case is part of the Justice Department’s ongoing efforts to protect seniors from transnational fraud,” prosecutors said.
The investigation involved the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, INTERPOL, and Polish authorities.
Officials urged seniors who may have been targeted by scams to contact the National Elder Fraud Hotline at 1-833-FRAUD-11 for assistance.
Nnebocha’s extradition is part of wider U.S. efforts to crack down on international fraud networks and safeguard vulnerable populations from increasingly sophisticated scams.
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