Fraud: United States of America based Nigerian faces deportation after 19 years’ jail term
A Nigerian, Leslie Chinedu Mba, has been sentenced to 19 years’ imprisonment by the United States of America (USA) District Court for his role in a $4 million fraud scheme and attempts to obtain residency through fraudulent marriages to elderly women.
Penpushing reports that Attorney for the District of Houston, Nicholas Ganjei, in a statement on Friday said the court also ordered that the 40-year-old Mba be deported upon completion of his prison term.
The Attorney added that the convict alongside other co-conspirators, carried out a series of business email compromise and romance scams between April 2018 and December 2023, targeting unsuspecting victims who believed they were transferring funds to legitimate businesses.
“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’, Ganjei stated.
“The schemes began overseas, where co-conspirators gained unauthorised access to business email accounts and redirected payments to fraudulent bank accounts. Victims believed they were sending money to legitimate businesses, but Mba and others instead funnelled the funds to accounts they controlled. Mba and others acted as money mules, opening or using existing bank accounts to collect and move proceeds from the fraud’, the statement read
Penpushing further reports that Ganjei in the statement stated that, the scheme orchestrated by Mba and his associates resulted in losses exceeding $4millio to victims, explaining that Mba, who had previously been denied residency, attempted to secure legal status by entering into multiple sham marriages.
The statement said Mba pleaded guilty to the charges filed against him in December 2025 and was subsequently scheduled for sentencing, adding that he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit false statements in immigration documents on December 4, 2025
“Leslie Chinedu Mba pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit false statements in immigration documents on December 4, 2025. U.S. District Judge David Hittner has now ordered Mba to serve 228 months in federal prison. As he is not a U.S. citizen, he is expected to face removal proceedings following his imprisonment. At the hearing, the court heard that victims were defrauded of over $4 million’.
Penpushing also reports that the statement added that four other co-conspirators had earlier been sentenced for their roles in the fraudulent scheme, having previously pleaded guilty.
“Four others had also previously pleaded guilty — 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 received five years’ probation,” Ganjei stated
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