Tochuwku Albert Nnebocha, 43, of Nigeria was extradited from the Republic of Poland and faces federal charges of engaging in a transnational criminal organization that operated an inheritance fraud scheme that cheated many American seniors out of their savings. Nnebocha made his initial appearance in federal court today (Monday) in Miami.
Nnebocha was arrested in April 2025 by authorities in Poland, based on an indictment filed in the Southern District of Florida, and has remained incarcerated since then.
According to court documents, Nnebocha is charged with operating a transnational inheritance fraud scheme.
Over the course of more than five years, he, along with others, allegedly sent personalized letters to elderly consumers in the United States, falsely claiming 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 purportedly had died years before in Spain.
Victims were told that, before they could receive their purported inheritance, they were required to send money for delivery fees, taxes, and payments to avoid questioning from government authorities.
Victims sent money to the defendants 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. According to the indictment, victims who sent money never received their purported inheritance funds.
The defendant is charged with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, as well as mail fraud and wire fraud. Nnebocha made his initial court appearance today (Monday) before U.S. Magistrate Judge Enjolique Lett of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
If convicted, Nnebocha faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Two additional defendants have pleaded guilty and been sentenced in this case. The Honorable Roy K. Altman previously sentenced both Okezie Bonaventure Ogbata, who was extradited from Portugal, and Ehis Lawrence Akhimie, who was extradited from the United Kingdom, to 97 months of incarceration for their roles in the scheme.
USPIS and HSI are investigating the case.
This case is one example of efforts by the Justice Department to protect American seniors from domestic and foreign based scams. These efforts include cases against those who engage in, and knowingly facilitate, romance fraud, lottery fraud, tech support fraud, and grandparent scams. Romance fraud is a confidence scheme where a perpetrator feigns romantic interest with a victim only to later extract money or property under false pretenses.
Lottery fraud schemes trick victims into believing they have won a non-existent lottery or sweepstakes prize in order to extract fake fees, taxes, or other fabricated charges from the victim. Tech support fraud scams involve perpetrators tricking victims into believing that their computer or phone has a problem, often through fake pop-up messages, and to later seek funds from the victims in order to “fix” the “problem.” Grandparent scams, another type of confidence scheme, involve scammers impersonating a grandchild or close family member who experiences a fictitious emergency and needs money from the victim as soon as possible.
Senior Trial Attorney and Transnational Criminal Litigation Coordinator Phil Toomajian and Trial Attorney Josh Rothman of the Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch are prosecuting the case. The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, the Federal Bureau of Investigations Legal Attache in Poland, INTERPOL, and Polish Authorities, all provided critical assistance.
If you or someone you know is age 60 or older and has been a victim of financial fraud, help is standing by at the National Elder Fraud Hotline: 1-833-FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311). This U.S. Department of Justice hotline, managed by the Office for Victims of Crime, is staffed by experienced professionals who provide personalized support to callers by assessing the needs of the victim and identifying relevant next steps.
Case managers will identify appropriate reporting agencies, provide information to callers to assist them in reporting, connect callers directly with appropriate agencies, and provide resources and referrals, on a case-by-case basis. Reporting is the first step. Reporting can help authorities identify those who commit fraud and reporting certain financial losses due to fraud as soon as possible can increase the likelihood of recovering losses. The hotline is open Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. ET. English, Spanish and other languages are available.
More information about the Department’s efforts to help American seniors is available at its Elder Justice Initiative webpage. For more information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts, visit its website at www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch. Elder fraud complaints may be filed with the FTC at www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov or at 877-FTC-HELP. The Department of Justice provides a variety of resources relating to elder fraud victimization through its Office for Victims of Crime, which can be reached at www.ovc.gov.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
