Nigerian National Sentenced to Prison for Romance Scam, Money Laundering Scheme
A Nigerian national has been sentenced to 51 months in prison and ordered to pay $524,000 in restitution, along with a money judgment of $868,295, for his involvement in a hybrid romance scam and business email compromise scheme.
In the federal system, there is no parole.
Court documents reveal that the scheme began in July 2015 when a co-conspirator initiated a romance scam with a 56-year-old widow in New Mexico, using the alias “Sean Bartlett.” The co-conspirator convinced the victim that he was an engineer working on lucrative oil contracts and promised to marry her, instructing her to send money for supposed business expenses.
On September 13, 2015, Uchenna Nlemchi opened a personal bank account at Amegy Bank in his own name. Sixteen days later, he opened a fraudulent business account at the same bank under the name of the non-existent “Jay Auto & Machine Parts,” listing himself as the sole owner.
Following the co-conspirator’s instructions, the victim transferred over $375,000 from her retirement savings and a home equity loan into accounts controlled by Nlemchi. This included wiring $45,000 on October 7 to another person’s account, and $35,000 directly to the “Jay Auto & Machine Parts” account on October 9, the same day the other person wired $44,000 into that account.
On October 22, the victim transferred $125,346 from her and her late husband’s IRA accounts into Nlemchi’s “Jay Auto & Machine Parts” account. On December 7, she took out a $170,000 home equity loan and immediately transferred the full amount to that account.
Separately, in late 2015, a German citizen attempting to purchase a Miami condo received fraudulent wire instructions after a hacker compromised her attorney’s email. The German victim then wired money intended for the condo purchase to the New Mexico victim’s account. A co-conspirator instructed the New Mexico victim to forward over $200,000 of those funds to Nlemchi’s accounts.
Nlemchi quickly withdrew and transferred over $868,000 from the “Jay Auto & Machine Parts” account, consisting of the New Mexico victim’s funds and other fraud proceeds. Nlemchi abandoned the fraudulent accounts on February 29, 2016, as bank investigators closed in.
At the time, Nlemchi was in the United States on a student visa, attending Texas Southern University. He was arrested in Houston, Texas in 2017, released on electronic monitoring in the third-party custody of his wife, and ordered to surrender his passport.
Nlemchi escaped from his monitoring system, fleeing to Mexico, then Brazil, and finally to his home in Nigeria. He remained an international fugitive for more than five years until his arrest in Hungary in 2023.
Nlemchi pleaded guilty in federal court to one count each of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering in February 2024.
After completing his prison term, Nlemchi will serve 3 years of supervised release and will face deportation proceedings.
U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today.
The Albuquerque Division of the FBI, with assistance from the Albuquerque Police Department during the extradition process, investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeremy Peña is prosecuting.
