Nigerian Man Sentenced To 4 Years In Prison For Duping A Widow $375,000 In Retirement Savings
A Nigerian man identified as Uchenna Nlemchi, has been sentenced to 51 months (4.25 years) in prison for his role in a romance scam and business email compromise scheme that defrauded a widow in New Mexico and other victims of over $860,000.
“On September 13, 2015, Nlemchi opened a personal bank account at Amegy Bank in his own name. Sixteen days later, Nlemchi opened a fraudulent business bank account at the same bank in the name of the non-existent “Jay Auto & Machine Parts,” the statement reads in part.
According to court documents, Nlemchi received over $375,000 from a New Mexico widow, who was convinced by a co-conspirator posing as “Sean Bartlett” to send money for supposed business expenses.
“Following the co-conspirator’s instructions over the next few months, the victim made several transfers into accounts controlled by Nlemchi totalling over $375,000 from her retirement savings and a home equity loan,” the statement said.
“On October 22nd, the victim transferred $125,346 from her and her late husband’s IRA accounts into Nlemchi’s “Jay Auto & Machine Parts” bank account. Then on December 7th, she took out a $170,000 home equity loan and immediately transferred the full amount to that account.
“Nlemchi rapidly withdrew and transferred globally over $868,000 that was deposited into the “Jay Auto & Machine Parts” account from the New Mexico victim and other fraud proceeds.
While the scheme began in 2015, Nlemchi abandoned the fraudulent accounts on February 29, 2016, as bank investigators closed in.
Nlemchi was arrested and extradited from Hungary to the United States last year. However, prior to that, he was “arrested in Houston, Texas in 2017 and released on electronic monitoring in the third-party custody of his wife and ordered to surrender his passport.”
The statement added that “Nlemchi escaped from his monitoring system and fled to Mexico, then to Brazil, then back to his home in Nigeria. Nlemchi was an international fugitive for more than five years until his arrest in Hungary in 2023.”
In February 2024, Nlemchi pleaded guilty to one count each of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. In addition to his prison sentence, he was ordered to pay $524,000 in restitution and a money judgment of $868,295.
In addition to his prison sentence, Nlemchi will face deportation proceedings and three years of supervised release after serving his sentence.
The case serves as a reminder of the importance of vigilance and the need for individuals to be cautious when receiving unsolicited requests for money or personal information.
