Ehis Lawrence Akhimie, a 41-year-old Nigerian national extradited from the UK, was sentenced on September 11, 2025, to 97 months in prison for his role in a transnational inheritance fraud targeting elderly victims in the United States. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida announced the sentencing on September 15, 2025.
Akhimie was part of a group that sent personalized letters falsely claiming to represent a Spanish bank and informing victims they were entitled to multimillion-dollar inheritances from deceased relatives overseas. Victims were then instructed to send money for fake delivery fees, taxes, and other payments to receive their supposed inheritance. Over $6 million was defrauded from more than 400 victims, many elderly or vulnerable.
The fraudsters used a network involving former victims to collect and forward the illicit payments. Victims never received any inheritance funds.
This sentencing marks the eighth Nigerian defendant convicted in connection with this scheme. Previously, Okezie Bonaventure Ogbata received the same sentence for his involvement, highlighting judicial recognition of the crime’s severity and its impact on vulnerable populations.
Investigations were carried out by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), with cooperation from international partners including Europol, and authorities from the UK, Spain, and Portugal. The case is prosecuted by the Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch and emphasizes ongoing international collaboration against transnational criminal fraud.
Officials stressed their commitment to protecting seniors and vulnerable consumers, underscoring that those who exploit others will be held accountable.
