KEY POINTS

• Nigerian Ehis Akhimie jailed for $6 million inheritance fraud.

• U.S. prosecutors say the scheme targeted more than 400 elderly victims.

• International cooperation led to multiple convictions in the case.

A United States federal court has sentenced Nigerian national Ehis Lawrence Akhimie to more than eight years in prison for orchestrating a $6 million inheritance fraud scheme that preyed on elderly victims across the country.

Akhimie, 41, was sentenced on September 11 to 97 months’ imprisonment by a Florida court after pleading guilty to conspiracy charges, according to a statement released Monday by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida.

Prosecutors said Akhimie and his associates sent hundreds of victims carefully tailored letters, posing as bank officials in Spain and promising multimillion-dollar inheritances from deceased relatives abroad.

Inheritance fraud targeting elderly victims

The fraudulent scheme demanded that victims pay delivery fees, taxes, and administrative charges before accessing the supposed inheritances.

Instead of unlocking wealth, the payments were funneled through a network of intermediaries in the U.S., many of whom were former fraud victims manipulated into acting as conduits for the syndicate.

Court documents show that no victim ever received inheritance payments. Instead, Akhimie and his associates enriched themselves while targeting some of the most vulnerable people in society. U.S. Attorney Jason Quiñones described the scam as a betrayal of trust, stressing that schemes of this kind “steal not only money but dignity from our seniors.”

Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division highlighted the importance of global partnerships in the investigation, noting contributions from agencies in the United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal and Europol. “This case is a testament to the critical role of international collaboration in tackling transnational crime,” he said.

Global agencies assist in securing convictions

The case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and Homeland Security Investigations. Officials said the prosecution underlined a broader campaign to hold transnational fraudsters accountable. Acting Inspector in Charge Bladismir Rojo pledged continued vigilance, while HSI’s Ray Rede called the targeting of elderly victims “a betrayal of humanity.”

Accoridng to Punch, Akhimie is the eighth defendant sentenced in the case. In April, another Nigerian, Okezie Bonaventure Ogbata, extradited from Portugal, received the same 97-month sentence. Other co-defendants have previously been sentenced by U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams.

Judge Roy Altman, who presided over some of the cases, described the offences as “incredibly serious crimes” requiring firm punishment to protect the vulnerable. The Department of Justice said the probe benefited from assistance provided by Europol and several European law enforcement agencies.