A Nigerian, Ehis Lawrence Akhimie, has been sentenced to 97 months in prison for his role in a transnational inheritance fraud scheme in the United States.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida announced this in a statement issued by the Department of Justice on Monday, September 15, 2025.
A Nigerian national, Ehis Lawrence Akhimie, has been sentenced to 97 months in prison for his role in a transnational inheritance fraud scheme in the United States.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida announced this in a statement issued by the Department of Justice on Monday, September 15, 2025.
According to court documents, Akhimie was a member of a group of fraudsters that sent personalized letters to elderly victims in the United States over the course of several years.
The letters falsely claimed that the sender was a representative of a bank in Spain and that the recipient was entitled to receive a multimillion-dollar inheritance left for the recipient by a family member who had died overseas years before.
Akhimie and his co-conspirators told a series of lies to victims, including that, before they could receive their purported inheritance, they were required to send money for delivery fees, taxes, and other payments to avoid questioning from government authorities.
Akhimie and his co-conspirators collected money victims sent in response to the fraudulent letters through a complex web of U.S.-based former victims, whom the defendants convinced to receive money and forward to the defendants or persons associated with them. Victims who sent money never received any purported inheritance funds.
In pleading guilty, Akhimie admitted to defrauding over $6 million from more than 400 victims, many of whom were elderly or otherwise vulnerable.
“Schemes like this steal not only money but dignity from our seniors,” said U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida (SDFL). “Our Office stands with victims, ensures their voices are heard, and will relentlessly pursue those who prey on them.”
“The Justice Department will continue to pursue, prosecute, and bring to justice transnational criminals responsible for defrauding U.S. consumers, wherever they are located,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “This case is a testament to the critical role of international collaboration in tackling transnational crime. I want to thank our U.S. law enforcement partners, as well as those who assisted across the globe, including the National Crime Agency and Crown Prosecution Service of the United Kingdom, for their outstanding contributions to this case.”
“The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is committed to protecting American consumers from being defrauded by Transnational Criminal Organizations,” said Acting Postal Inspector in Charge Bladismir Rojo for the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) Miami Division. “We have long partnered with the Department of Justice’s Consumer Protection Branch to deliver justice and we will continue to do so.”
“Defrauding the elderly and other vulnerable populations is a betrayal of not just trust but of humanity,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Ray Rede for HSI Arizona. “HSI and our law enforcement partners commitment to investigate criminals who steal money sends a clear message: justice will prevail, and those who exploit others for personal gain will be held accountable. We thank all our partners who assisted in this investigation.”
“Akhimie is the eighth defendant sentenced to prison in connection with the scheme. District Court Judge Kathleen M. Williams previously sentenced six additional defendants in a related case,” the statement read.
On April 25, District Court Judge Roy K. Altman sentenced Okezie Bonaventure Ogbata, who was extradited from Portugal, to 97 months in prison for his role in the scheme, describing the defendant’s offense conduct as “an incredibly serious crime” and stating that it merited a substantial sentence because it was important “to stand up for the most vulnerable, for the least protected members of our society who have done absolutely nothing wrong.”
USPIS and HSI investigated the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, Europol, and authorities from the UK, Spain, and Portugal all provided critical assistance.
Senior Trial Attorney and Transnational Criminal Litigation Coordinator Phil Toomajian and Trial Attorneys Josh Rothman of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch are prosecuting the case.
