A United States District Court has sentenced a Nigerian, Leslie Chinedu Mba, to 19 years’ imprisonment for his role in a $4 million fraud scheme and attempts to obtain residency through fraudulent marriages to elderly women.
PUNCH Online gathered from a statement issued on Friday by the US Attorney for the District of Houston, Nicholas Ganjei, that the court also ordered that Mba be deported upon completion of his prison term.
Ganjei said the 40-year-old, 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.
Ganjei said, “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.
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“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.”
According to the statement, the scheme orchestrated by Mba and his associates resulted in losses exceeding $4m to victims.
The US attorney further disclosed that Mba, who had previously been denied residencyattempted to secure legal status by entering into multiple sham marriages.
He said Mba pleaded guilty to the charges filed against him in December 2025 and was subsequently scheduled for sentencing.
“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.”
The statement added that four other co-conspirators had earlier been sentenced for their roles in the fraudulent scheme.
“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.
Mba’s sentencing adds to the growing list of Nigerians convicted in the United States for various offences.
PUNCH Online reports that no fewer than 113 Nigerians convicted of different crimes in the US are scheduled for deportation as part of the ongoing crackdown on criminal immigrants under President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement policy.
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