A U.S. federal court has sentenced Ehis Lawrence Akhimie, a 41-year-old Nigerian national, to 97 months in prison for his role in a transnational inheritance fraud scheme that defrauded more than 400 elderly victims across the United States out of over $6 million.
The sentence was handed down by Kathleen M. Williams, U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Florida, after Akhimie pleaded guilty to fraud-related charges.
According to court documents, Akhimie and his co-conspirators operated for several years by:
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Sending personalized letters to elderly Americans, falsely claiming to be representatives of a Spain-based bank
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Telling victims they were entitled to multimillion-dollar inheritances from deceased relatives
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Demanding advance payments for delivery fees, taxes, and government clearances
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Using previous fraud victims as unwitting intermediaries to receive and forward money, creating a layered network to conceal their identities
Victims who paid the fees never received any inheritance, as none existed. The group used false names, forged documents, and international bank accounts to sustain the scheme and avoid early detection.
Investigators said the group avoided detection for years by:
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Spreading operations across several countries, including the United Kingdom, Spain, and Portugal
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Disguising transactions through U.S.-based intermediaries, making payments appear legitimate
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Targeting elderly and vulnerable victims unlikely to question the documents or verify claims
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Hiding behind fake identities and foreign financial channels
The scheme was eventually uncovered through a joint international investigation led by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), with support from the Department of Justice, Europol, and authorities in the UK, Spain, and Portugal.
Akhimie is the eighth defendant to be sentenced in connection with the scheme.
Earlier this year, Okezie Bonaventure Ogbata, who was extradited from Portugal, received 97 months in prison from Roy K. Altman, another federal judge in the Southern District of Florida. Judges described the fraud as “an incredibly serious crime” that exploited “the most vulnerable members of society.”
Brett A. Shumate, Assistant Attorney General of the DOJ’s Civil Division, said the case showed “the critical role of international collaboration in tackling transnational crime.”
Jason A. Reding Quiñones, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, stated that such schemes “steal not only money but dignity from our seniors.”
Law enforcement agencies involved included USPIS, HSI, the National Crime Agency and Crown Prosecution Service in the UK, and the DOJ’s Consumer Protection Branch.
