A 40-year-old Nigerian national, Leslie Chinedu Mba, has been sentenced to 19 years in a United States federal prison for his leading role in a sophisticated romance scam and business email compromise scheme that defrauded victims of over $4 million .
The sentence was handed down by U.S. District Judge David Hittner, who ordered Mba to serve 228 months behind bars. The ruling followed Mba’s guilty plea on December 4, 2025, to charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to make false statements in immigration documents .
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas, between April 2018 and December 2023, Mba and his accomplices operated a transnational fraud network targeting both individuals and businesses . The scheme typically began overseas, where co-conspirators gained unauthorised access to legitimate business email accounts and redirected payments to fraudulent bank accounts controlled by the syndicate .
Prosecutors revealed that Mba acted as a “money mule,” opening and using bank accounts to collect and launder the illicit proceeds. Victims, believing they were sending funds to legitimate businesses or romantic partners, instead had their money funnelled into accounts under Mba’s control .
Immigration Violations and Sham Marriages
In addition to the fraud scheme, investigators found that Mba attempted to obtain U.S. permanent residency through multiple fraudulent marriages after his initial immigration application was denied and he had been ordered to leave the country .
U.S. Attorney Nicholas Ganjei condemned the crimes, describing romance scams as “among the lowest and most despicable forms of fraud because they prey upon the lonely and vulnerable, and disproportionately victimize senior citizens” .
FBI Houston Special Agent in Charge Jason Hudson added that the scheme left victims “financially devastated and emotionally shattered,” vowing that the agency would continue to pursue fraudsters whose schemes “leave a wake of misery behind” .
Co-conspirators Sentenced
Four other Houston residents—Grace Morisho, 30; Rodgers Kadikilo, 30; Kristin Smith, 38; and Alexandra Golovko, 36—had earlier pleaded guilty in connection with the case. Morisho, Kadikilo, and Smith received prison sentences ranging from 15 to 25 months, while Golovko was sentenced to five years’ probation .
Mba, who is not a U.S. citizen, is expected to face deportation proceedings immediately after completing his prison term . He will remain in custody pending transfer to a facility designated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons .
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