A United States court has sentenced a Nigerian, Ehis Lawrence Akhimie, to over eight years in prison for his role in a transnational inheritance scam that defrauded more than 400 elderly victims of over $6 million.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida said in a Monday statement that Akhimie, 41, was sentenced on September 11 to 97 months’ imprisonment after pleading guilty to conspiracy charges.
According to court documents, Akhimie and his accomplices posed as Spanish bank officials, sending personalised letters to victims claiming they were entitled to multimillion-dollar inheritances from deceased relatives overseas. Victims were told to pay delivery charges, taxes, and other fees before accessing the supposed funds.
Instead, the money was funneled through a network of intermediaries — including former fraud victims in the U.S. who were manipulated into serving as conduits — before being pocketed by the fraudsters. No victim ever received an inheritance.
U.S. Attorney Jason Quiñones condemned the fraud as a betrayal of seniors’ trust:
> “Schemes like this steal not only money but dignity from our seniors. Our Office stands with victims and will relentlessly pursue those who prey on them.”
Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate praised international cooperation, noting assistance from the UK’s National Crime Agency and Crown Prosecution Service. He said the case underscored the Justice Department’s resolve to track down fraudsters “wherever they are located.”
The investigation was led by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Acting HSI Special Agent in Charge Ray Rede described the crime as “a betrayal of not just trust but of humanity.”
Akhimie is the eighth defendant sentenced in the case. In April, another Nigerian, Okezie Bonaventure Ogbata, extradited from Portugal, also received a 97-month sentence. Several others have been jailed in related proceedings.
The Department of Justice said the probe benefited from cooperation with Europol and authorities in the UK, Spain, and Portugal.
The case adds to a series of high-profile prosecutions in the U.S. involving Nigerians implicated in cross-border fraud, from internet scams to romance frauds, that have drawn global attention in recent years.
