A Nigerian, Tochukwu Albert Nnebocha, has been extradited from Poland to the United States to face charges of running an inheritance fraud scheme that allegedly defrauded elderly Americans of their life savings.
Nnebocha, 43, appeared on Monday, September 29, 2025, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Enjolique Lett of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
According to a press release by the U.S. Department of Justice, he was arrested in April 2025 by Polish authorities based on an indictment filed in Florida, and has remained in custody since then.
Court documents allege that over five years, Nnebocha and others sent fraudulent letters to American seniors, claiming to represent a Spanish bank. The letters falsely informed recipients that they were heirs to multimillion-dollar estates of deceased relatives in Spain.
Victims were allegedly instructed to pay delivery fees, taxes, and other charges to access the fictitious inheritance.
Investigators said the money was funneled through a network of U.S.-based intermediaries, many of them former victims, before being redirected to the suspects or their associates.
According to the indictment, none of the victims ever received the promised inheritance.
