Nigerian Man Convicted in $4m Business Email Compromise Scam Faces Deportation After Jail Term
- A United States court has sentenced Nigerian national Leslie Chinedu Mba to 19 years in prison for his role in a $4 million fraud scheme
- Prosecutors say Mba carried out business email compromise and romance scams between April 2018 and December 2023, defrauding unsuspecting victims
- The court also heard that Mba attempted to secure residency through sham marriages and will face deportation after serving his sentence
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A United States District Court has sentenced Nigerian national, Leslie Chinedu Mba, to 19 years in prison for his role in a $4 million fraud scheme and attempts to obtain residency through sham marriages.
According to a statement issued on Friday by US Attorney for the District of Houston, Nicholas Ganjei, the court also ordered that Mba be deported once he completes his prison term.
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Fraud scheme targeted businesses and romance victims
Ganjei reported that Mba, aged 40, alongside other co-conspirators, carried out a series of business email compromise and romance scams between April 2018 and December 2023. Victims were tricked into believing they were transferring funds to legitimate businesses.
He explained:
“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 were said to have lost more than $4 million, with Mba and his associates acting as money mules to move the proceeds.
Sham marriages to secure residency
The statement further revealed that Mba, who had previously been denied residency, attempted to secure legal status by entering into multiple fraudulent marriages with elderly women.
He pleaded guilty on December 4, 2025, to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit false statements in immigration documents. US District Judge David Hittner subsequently sentenced him to 228 months in federal prison.
Co-conspirators also sentenced
Four other individuals linked to the scheme had earlier been sentenced. They include 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 was handed five years’ probation.
Speaking with Legit.ng, AbdulRasheed Hussain, a policy analyst based in Nigeria, shared his thoughts how crimes affect the image of Nigeria internationally:
“The conviction of a Nigerian in the U.S. for a multimillion‑dollar fraud scheme is deeply damaging to Nigeria’s global image. His involvement in scams and sham marriages reinforces negative stereotypes about Nigerians abroad, overshadowing the achievements of countless law‑abiding citizens. Such criminal acts not only tarnish the country’s reputation but also undermine trust in Nigerian professionals and students working hard to build credibility on the international stage.”
Mba’s sentencing adds to the growing list of Nigerians convicted in the United States for fraud and related offences. Reports indicate that no fewer than 113 Nigerians convicted of different crimes are scheduled for deportation under President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement policy.
Source: Twitter
Nigerian man jailed in US for hacking tax firms
Legit.ng earlier reported that a Nigerian man who lived in Mexico has been sentenced to eight years in a United States prison for breaking into the computer systems of tax preparation firms in Massachusetts and filing fake tax returns to steal government funds.
The sentencing was disclosed on Wednesday, February 18, in an official statement released on a United States government website.
Matthew A. Akande, 37, received the sentence on Tuesday, February 17, from US District Court Judge Indira Talwani in federal court in Boston. He will also serve three years of supervised release after prison and must pay $1,393,230 in restitution.
Source: Legit.ng
