A Nigerian man has been sentenced to more than eight years in a United States prison for orchestrating a multimillion-dollar inheritance scam that preyed on hundreds of elderly victims across the country.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida said 41-year-old Ehis Lawrence Akhimie was handed a 97-month sentence on 11 September after pleading guilty to conspiracy charges.
Prosecutors told the court that Akhimie and his accomplices defrauded more than $6 million from over 400 victims by sending letters falsely claiming to be from a bank in Spain. The correspondence informed recipients that they were heirs to large overseas estates, but required them to pay purported taxes and fees before receiving the funds.
Instead of inheritances, victims lost their savings. Many were elderly and vulnerable, while others who had already fallen prey were recruited as unwitting intermediaries to forward payments through the network.
“Schemes like this steal not only money but dignity from our seniors,” said U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones. “Our Office will relentlessly pursue those who prey on the most vulnerable.”
Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate described the case as a model of cross-border law enforcement cooperation, crediting Europol and agencies in the U.K., Spain, and Portugal with supporting the investigation.
Akhimie is the eighth defendant sentenced in connection with the conspiracy. Earlier this year, District Judge Roy K. Altman imposed an identical 97-month term on Okezie Bonaventure Ogbata, who was extradited from Portugal. The judge condemned the scam as “an incredibly serious crime” that demanded tough punishment “to stand up for the least protected members of our society.”
