A United States court has sentenced a Nigerian man, Ehis Lawrence Akhimie, to more than eight years in prison for his part in a large inheritance fraud scheme that cost victims over $6 million.
The sentence was handed down on September 11 by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges.
Court records show that Akhimie, aged 41, and his partners in the scheme targeted people in the United States, sending them letters that looked official and claimed to be from bank representatives in Spain. The letters informed recipients that they were entitled to inheritances worth millions of dollars from relatives who had supposedly died abroad. Victims were told that before accessing the money, they needed to pay charges described as delivery costs, taxes, and other related fees.
The payments collected from victims were transferred through a complicated system. The fraudsters made use of U.S.-based individuals, many of whom had previously been victims themselves. These individuals were convinced to act as intermediaries by receiving funds and forwarding them to the group or their associates. At no point did any victim receive the promised inheritance, and the money collected was instead diverted into the network controlled by Akhimie and his accomplices.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the scheme tricked more than 400 people, many of them elderly and vulnerable, over several years. Investigators described the operation as one that preyed on trust and exploited the hopes of individuals who believed they were gaining access to family wealth.
The investigation was carried out by U.S. law enforcement agencies, including the Postal Inspection Service and Homeland Security Investigations. Authorities in the United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal, and Europol also worked with American officials to track the movement of funds and bring those involved to justice.
Akhimie is the eighth person to be sentenced in connection with the case. Earlier in April, another Nigerian, Okezie Bonaventure Ogbata, who was extradited from Portugal, received the same 97-month sentence from the court. Other members of the network had previously been convicted and jailed in related hearings.
The U.S. Justice Department noted that the sentencing of Akhimie and others sends a message that transnational fraud targeting vulnerable people will not go unpunished. The case also showed the role of international cooperation in tackling criminal organizations that operate across borders.