The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) has confirmed the extradition of Nigerian national Tochuwku Nnebocha from Poland to face charges in connection with a multimillion-dollar inheritance fraud scheme.
Nnebocha, 43, appeared in a federal courtroom in Miami, Florida, after being arrested in April 2025 by Polish authorities.
He had been held in custody pending extradition on an indictment filed in the Southern District of Florida.
According to court documents, Nnebocha allegedly led a transnational criminal network that ran an inheritance fraud scheme for over five years.
Elderly Americans were targeted with letters claiming they had inherited multimillion-dollar estates from relatives in Spain.
Victims were tricked into paying supposed delivery fees, taxes, and clearance charges.
However, the DOJ said that “victims who sent money never received any inheritance funds.”
Investigators later discovered that the payments were laundered through a network of US-based “money mules,” many of whom were themselves prior fraud victims manipulated into sending funds overseas.
Nnebocha now faces charges of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, alongside multiple counts of mail and wire fraud.
If convicted, he could spend up to 20 years in federal prison. A judge will determine his final sentence after reviewing the US Sentencing Guidelines.
Two of his associates have already been convicted.
Okezie Bonaventure Ogbata, extradited from Portugal, and Ehis Lawrence Akhimie, extradited from the UK, both pleaded guilty and were sentenced to 97 months each in prison.
The DOJ described the case as part of its broader campaign to combat crimes that exploit seniors.
These include romance scams, lottery fraud, tech support fraud, and the notorious “grandparent scam.”
Officials warned that such schemes have caused devastating financial losses for American families.
“This extradition underscores our commitment to holding perpetrators accountable, no matter where they operate,” the DOJ said.
“We are determined to safeguard seniors from fraudulent schemes that can destroy lives.”
The case involved coordination between several agencies, including the DOJ’s Consumer Protection Branch, the Office of International Affairs, the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, the FBI Legal Attaché in Poland, INTERPOL, and Polish law enforcement authorities.
Meanwhile, US officials confirmed that Nnebocha’s extradition came amid wider efforts to dismantle international fraud networks.
Recently, another Nigerian, Chukwuemeka Amachukwu, was extradited from France to New York to face charges of computer hacking, fraud, and identity theft.
The DOJ has vowed to intensify its pursuit of cross-border fraud syndicates, stressing that no hiding place exists for criminals who target the vulnerable.
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