Uchenna Nlemchi, a Nigerian national, has been handed a 51-month prison sentence for his involvement in a sophisticated online fraud operation that exploited vulnerable individuals through romance scams and business email compromises.
As the legal noose tightens, Uchenna Nlemchi has been ordered to cough up $524,000 in restitution to those he swindled and surrender $868,295 in assets tied to his romance scam and business email compromise scheme, a financial reckoning that underscores the severity of his crimes.
In a transcontinental operation, Uchenna Nlemchi was handed over to US authorities by Hungarian officials last year, marking a significant milestone in the international effort to bring cybercriminals to justice.
Under federal law, Uchenna Nlemchi will serve his full 51-month sentence without the possibility of early release, a stark reminder of the severity of his cybercrime convictions.
Alexander M.M. Uballez, US Attorney, and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge at the FBI’s Albuquerque office, went public with the news on Thursday, issuing a statement that provided insight into the investigation.
The scheme’s roots can be traced back to 2015, when a co-conspirator, operating under the pseudonym “Sean Bartlett”, exploited a New Mexico widow’s trust, persuading her to finance fraudulent business ventures.
Read also: 11 Nigerian Dating Scammers Arrested By German Police
Uchenna Nlemchi cleverly laundered the illicit funds by opening bank accounts in his own name and that of a fictitious company, “Jay Auto & Machine Parts”, collectively accumulating over $375,000 from the unsuspecting victim.
In a separate incident, a German national was swindled out of over $200,000, which was traced to Nlemchi’s bank accounts. He promptly emptied the accounts, transferring the funds elsewhere, and abandoned them in February 2016.
The statement said in part, “On September 13, 2015, Uchenna 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,” listing himself as the sole owner.
“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.
“This included wiring $45,000 on October 7th to another person’s account, before sending $35,000 directly to the “Jay Auto & Machine Parts” account on October 9th, the same day the other person wired $44,000 into that account.
“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. 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 and attended Texas Southern University. 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.
Uchenna Nlemchi owned up to his crimes in February 2024, pleading guilty in federal court to wire fraud and conspiracy to launder money, a move that signaled the beginning of the end of his legal battle.
Once he’s completed his prison term, Nlemchi will be thrust into deportation proceedings and subjected to a 3-year period of supervised release, a stark reminder of the consequences of his actions.