A United States court has sentenced a Nigerian, Ehis Lawrence Akhimie, to over eight years in prison for his role in a transnational inheritance fraud scheme that defrauded more than 400 elderly victims of over $6m.

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

According to court filings as indicated in the statement, Akhimie and his accomplices sent personalised letters to victims in the U.S., posing as bank officials in Spain. The letters claimed the recipients were entitled to multimillion-dollar inheritances from relatives who had purportedly died overseas.

Victims were told that before they could access the inheritance, they had to pay various fees, including delivery charges, taxes, and other payments to avoid “government scrutiny”. The funds, however, were siphoned through a network of intermediaries, including former fraud victims in the U.S., who were manipulated into acting as conduits for the syndicate.

READ ALSO:Court Jails Two For Targeting President With Sorcery

U.S. prosecutors said no victim received any inheritance. Instead, the fraudsters enriched themselves while targeting some of the most vulnerable members of society.

“Akhimie and his co-conspirators collected money victims sent in response to the fraudulent letters through a complex web of U.S.-based former victims, whom the defendants convinced to receive money and forward to the defendants or persons associated with them. Victims who sent money never received any purported inheritance funds. In pleading guilty, Akhimie admitted to defrauding over $6 million from more than 400 victims, many of whom were elderly or otherwise vulnerable,” the statement read.

U.S. Attorney Jason Quiñones described the offence as a betrayal of trust, “Schemes like this steal not only money but dignity from our seniors. Our Office stands with victims, ensures their voices are heard, and will relentlessly pursue those who prey on them,” he said.

Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division stressed the role of global collaboration in tackling cross-border fraud.

READ ALSO:Two Nigerians Face Jail Terms In Liberia’s Piracy Trial

“The Justice Department will continue to pursue, prosecute, and bring to justice transnational criminals responsible for defrauding U.S. consumers, wherever they are located. This case is a testament to the critical role of international collaboration in tackling transnational crime.

“I want to thank our U.S. law enforcement partners, as well as those who assisted across the globe, including the National Crime Agency and Crown Prosecution Service of the United Kingdom, for their outstanding contributions to this case,” Shumate said.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service, which investigated the case alongside Homeland Security Investigations, also pledged to maintain its crackdown on financial fraud.

Acting Inspector in Charge, Bladismir Rojo, said, “We are committed to protecting American consumers from being defrauded by transnational criminal organisations. We will continue to work with the Department of Justice to deliver justice.”

READ ALSO:Ghana Jails Three Nigerians For 96 Years Over Car Theft

Similarly, Acting Special Agent in Charge Ray Rede of HSI Arizona added: “Defrauding the elderly and other vulnerable populations is a betrayal of not just trust but of humanity. Justice will prevail, and those who exploit others for personal gain will be held accountable.”

Akhimie is the eighth defendant sentenced in the sprawling case. In April, another Nigerian, Okezie Bonaventure Ogbata, who was extradited from Portugal, was handed the same 97-month sentence by District Court Judge Roy Altman.

At the time, Judge Altman described the offence as “an incredibly serious crime” that demanded strong punishment to protect “the most vulnerable, the least protected members of our society.

READ ALSO:South African Court Affirms 18-year Jail Term For Nigerian Over Human Trafficking

Other defendants had previously received jail terms in related proceedings before U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams.

The Department of Justice said the probe benefited from assistance provided by Europol, and authorities in the UK, Spain and Portugal, alongside its Office of International Affairs.

The case has again spotlighted Nigeria’s recurring link with cross-border fraud. U.S. authorities have, in recent years, prosecuted several Nigerians in high-profile scams, ranging from internet fraud to romance scams.

A Nairobi court issued an arrest warrant Tuesday for a British citizen in connection with the high-profile death of a young Kenyan mother whose body was found in a septic tank over a decade ago.

Agnes Wanjiru, 21, died in 2012 after she reportedly went partying with British soldiers at a hotel in central Nanyuki town, where Britain has a permanent army garrison.

The Office for the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) said it had informed the court “that evidence gathered links the suspect, a United Kingdom citizen, to the murder”.

Nairobi High Court judge Alexander Muteti said there was “probable cause to order the arrest of the accused and his surrender before this court for his trial”, granting a warrant for “one citizen and resident of the United Kingdom”.

READ ALSO:Jihadist Blockades Disrupt Trade, Travel In Landlocked Mali

Following the judge’s ruling, the ODPP said in a statement on X that “extradition proceedings would now be initiated to ensure the suspect is brought before a Kenyan court”.

Wanjiru’s sister, Rose Wanyua Wanjiku, 52, welcomed the announcement and told AFP: “Let justice prevail”.

“As a family, we are very happy because it has been many years, but now we can see a step has been made,” she said.

– ‘Accelerate progress’ –

A spokesperson for the British government acknowledged the DPP had “determined that a British National should face trial in relation to the murder of Ms Wanjiru in 2012”.

READ ALSO:Kenya Anti-tax Protests Death Toll Hits 13

The government remains “absolutely committed to helping them secure justice”, but will not comment further due to legal proceedings, according to a statement.

In October 2021, The Sunday Times reported that a soldier had confessed to his comrades to killing Wanjiru and showed them her body.

The report alleged that the murder was reported to military superiors, but there was no further action.

A Kenyan investigation was opened in 2019, but no results have been disclosed. The ODPP said earlier that a team of senior prosecutors had been assembled to review the case.

READ ALSO:You Can’t Kill All Of Us,’ Kenya Protesters Vow To March Again

British defence minister John Healey met the family earlier this year, stressing the need to “accelerate progress” on the case.

Since Kenya gained independence in 1963, Britain has kept a permanent army base near Nanyuki, around 200 kilometres (125 miles) north of the capital Nairobi.

The British Army Training Unit in Kenya is an economic lifeline for many in Nanyuki, but it has faced criticism over incidents of misconduct by its soldiers.

AFP

A Zambian court on Monday sentenced two men to two years in prison with hard labour on charges of attempting to use witchcraft to kill the country’s president.

Mozambican national Jasten Mabulesse Candunde and Zambian village chief Leonard Phiri were arrested in December in possession of charms, including a live chameleon.

Police said they planned to use the charms to harm President Hakainde Hichilema, and they were charged with professing knowledge of witchcraft and possession of charms.

READ ALSO:Ghana Jails Three Nigerians For 96 Years Over Car Theft

“The motive of the crime was to kill the head of state,” magistrate Fine Mayambu ruled in the capital Lusaka on Monday.

“The convicts were not only enemies of the head of state but all Zambians. I therefore sentence them to 24 months imprisonment with hard labour from the date of their arrest,” he said.

The prosecution said the men had been hired by the brother of opposition MP Emmanuel “Jay Jay” Banda, who is facing trial for robbery, attempted murder and escaping custody.